Chaos in the USA–Paraguay match as VAR decision sparks confusion and controversy
VAR summoned the match official for an ‘identity issue’ following a foul that drew a booking. It ended up changing the nature of the offense.
A bizarre scene unfolded during the USA–Paraguay match after a refereeing sequence involving Spanish VAR official Carlos del Cerro Grande left players, coaches, and viewers stunned.
The on‑field referee, Danny Makkelie, initially showed a yellow card to USMNT defender Tim Ream for a challenge on Miguel Almirón. Play restarted — but moments later, Makkelie was called to review the action by the VAR team, led by Del Cerro Grande. What happened next only deepened the confusion.
Who committed the foul?
According to the officiating crew, the VAR intervention was triggered by a “mistaken identity” situation — one of the few scenarios in which video review is allowed to stop play. But instead of simply correcting the identity of the alleged offender, the refereeing team completely changed the decision: they rescinded Ream’s yellow card, booked a Paraguayan player for simulation, and awarded a free kick to the United States.
For many experts, that went far beyond what the rules allow.
Former international referee and Spanish officiating analyst Iturralde González didn’t hold back. “Mistaken identity only allows you to correct who committed the foul. It doesn’t let you change the technical decision. Where did they get this from?”
He went even further, criticizing how VAR was applied in this case. “At this point, we barely need referees anymore,” he said, calling the explanation “a stretch of the rulebook.”
Iturralde later clarified that the officials justified the intervention by citing the rule that allows play to be stopped when a yellow card is issued to the wrong player. But in his view, using that clause to reverse the entire call — including the foul itself — made the incident “one of the biggest errors of the World Cup.”
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