Portugal's João Pinheiro has broken his silence over the controversy that engulfed Argentina's World Cup quarter-final against Switzerland.
The Portuguese referee took charge that day, and he has now revisited some of the flashpoints that soured the tie.
Chief among them was Embolo's dismissal, a second yellow card handed out after a video review, along with Lionel Messi's furious clash with the official.
Speaking to Marca, Pinheiro explained that his team first read the Argentine's challenge as a bookable foul. A review told a different story. No foul had taken place, and the opponent had feigned being tripped.
"We saw that there was no foul and that it was play-acting," he said. "And since it was the second yellow card, it resulted in the player being sent off. Had it been the first, the decision would have been exactly the same."
He welcomes the changes FIFA have brought in to stamp out that kind of behaviour.
The International Football Association Board, IFAB, confirmed today that Breel Embolo's sending off during the 2026 World Cup quarter-final was a mistake. The video review process that produced the second yellow, they explained, was carried out incorrectly.
By IFAB's account, Embolo did not deserve to go after that second caution for simulation to win a free kick. The call changed everything in the 72nd minute, moments after Switzerland had clawed back a 1-1 equaliser. Argentina went on to win 3-1 in extra time.
The tense exchange with Messi
Cameras also caught a verbal row between Pinheiro and Lionel Messi, the Argentina captain jabbing his finger and demanding the referee speak to him with respect and stop insulting him.
Pinheiro played the whole thing down. It was nothing out of the ordinary, he insisted.
"Messi raised some points with me, as did other players," he explained. "Team captains communicate more with referees, and the new rules allow for this dialogue."
Slap the star's name on it, though, and a routine exchange suddenly becomes a spectacle. That, in Pinheiro's view, is exactly what happened.
"Because it was Messi, the matter received greater attention, but this happens with many footballers," he noted. "When it involves Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, these situations are viewed differently."
Far from seeing these conversations as a threat, the referee reckons they help him manage games without reaching for his cards.
"They are constructive dialogues," he added. "We are not obliged to caution everyone. Perhaps he misunderstood something I did, we talked, we understood each other, and then we moved on."
The tournament itself left its mark on him. It marked the return of Portuguese officiating to the finals for the first time in twelve years.
Pinheiro reserved special thanks for Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proença, who stayed alongside the referees throughout. "There are no words to describe the wonder of the World Cup," he said. "One does not realise its greatness until one experiences it."