Historic First VAR Intervention Under New Rules

The World Cup match between the USA and Paraguay (4-1) will be remembered for the first-ever implementation of a new VAR protocol: the "mistaken identity" rule. This regulation, introduced before the tournament, addresses situations where the wrong player is sent off or booked with a yellow card.

In the 50th minute of the game, Paraguay's Miguel Almiron challenged Tim Ream of the American squad. In an attempt to dispossess the "Albirroja" player, Ream went in low with his foot, and the South American fell to the ground. Head referee Danny Makkelie whistled for a foul and showed a yellow card to the American defender. However, VAR, overseen by Spain's Del Cerro Grande, intervened. Makkelie then consulted with his colleagues in the VAR booth, as per FIFA's new rule.

After reviewing the replay on the monitor, the head referee determined that Almiron had in fact simulated the foul, as Ream had not even made contact. Consequently, he rescinded Ream's yellow card and issued it to the former Newcastle player instead.

However, at the same time, a foul was also awarded in favor of the USA, which was an error, noted former Spanish referee Iturralde Gonzalez.

"In cases of mistaken identity, only the perpetrator can be reviewed, not the technical decision. Where did they come up with that?" commented Iturralde Gonzalez, who serves as a refereeing analyst for "As" and "Cadena Ser."

"Referees are becoming redundant," the former international referee continued, criticizing this interpretation of the rules. "The technical explanation they offer is that for a yellow card due to mistaken identity, you can stop the game. And they've taken advantage of that. This is stretching the rules," Iturralde clarified, labeling the situation as "one of the World Cup's blunders."