Recommended
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that establishes and regulates football rules, issued a circular this Tuesday in which it indirectly admits that the Swiss forward Breel Embolo was sent off due to an error in the VAR protocol during the quarter-final match between Argentina and Switzerland in the last World Cup, which ended in a 3-1 victory for the Albiceleste in extra time.
The Swiss player was sent off in the 72nd minute, with the score tied at 1-1, in the quarter-final match between Argentina and Switzerland.
Embolo received a double caution after being shown a second yellow card for simulation following a dispute with Leandro Paredes. The match referee, Joao Pinheiro, initially gave the Argentine defender a yellow card, but VAR intervened to overturn that card and sanction the Swiss attacker for simulation.
As explained by the IFAB in circular number 34, VAR can intervene if an error has occurred in identifying the cautioned player, but it cannot be used to review the infraction itself.
"A yellow card (caution) that does not constitute a second yellow card may only be subject to review to identify the player who committed the sanctioned infraction; the infraction itself cannot be reviewed or modified," the IFAB document states.
In another circular, number 32, the IFAB explains that "the following incidents, which occur infrequently, will become subject to review under the VAR protocol: red cards derived from a second yellow card shown in a manifestly incorrect manner, case of mistaken identity when a yellow or red card is shown to a player, but the infraction for which the card was shown was committed by another player from either team."
Furthermore, it admits that, ten years after the introduction of the video assistant referee protocol, a "review will be carried out to identify potential improvements aimed at increasing the efficiency and fairness of the VAR system."
[Publicidad]