Switzerland forward Breel Embolo was handed a red card during his team's FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final against Argentina at the Kansas City Stadium on Saturday. The red card decision left Embolo visibly distraught as he left the field in tears.
Breel Embolo's dismissal came with the scores level at 1-1 with 18 minutes left in the game.
Earlier, Alexis McAllister had given the defending champions a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute, but a resilient Switzerland team fought back in the second half with a goal from Dan Ndoye in the 67th minute. However, disaster struck for Switzerland in the 72nd when Breel Emblo was sent off by the referee.
Why was Breel Embolo sent off?
Breel Embolo was initially cautioned with a yellow card in the 44th minute of the match for a dangerous tackle on Argentina's Leandro Paredes.
In the second half of the game, Embolo was given a second yellow card when he went to ground under pressure from Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes. Referee Joao Pinheiro initially penalised Paredes and showed the Argentine a yellow card, believing he had fouled the Swiss forward.
However, the incident was subsequently reviewed by the video assistant referee under FIFA's expanded VAR protocol, which allows officials to correct cases of mistaken identity involving yellow-card decisions.
After watching the replay on the pitchside monitor, Pinheiro concluded there had been no foul by Paredes and instead judged that Embolo had simulated the challenge.
However, the referee revoked Paredes' yellow card and booked Embolo for simulation. As the Switzerland striker had already been cautioned earlier in the contest, the second booking automatically resulted in a red card, reducing Murat Yakin's side to 10 men for the remainder of the match.
The red card decision led to protests from the Swiss players. The decision also marked another high-profile use of FIFA's revised VAR regulations, introduced ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which permit reviews in limited yellow-card situations, including mistaken-identity incidents that could lead to a player's dismissal.
Breel Embolo’s FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign
Despite the red card ending his World Cup campaign prematurely, reel Embolo enjoyed a productive FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign. From six matches, the 29-year-old scored two goals and also provided as many assists.
However, ever since Embolo’s dismissal well into the second half, things turned from bad to worse from Switzerland, as they ended up conceding two goals during extra time, with Julian Alvarez scoring in the 112th minute and Lautaro Martinez wrapping the match up in the 121st minute.
Argentina will next take on England in the semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday.
