Breel Embolo in floods of tears as new World Cup rule sees Switzerland star sent off

Switzerland striker Breel Embolo burst into tears as he was shown a red card for diving after a new World Cup rule was used.

Embolo appeared to find himself on the receiving end of a poor challenge by Argentina‘s Leandro Paredes, who was booked by referee Joao Pinheiro.

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However, VAR intervened following the incident, asking the match official to go to the monitor and watch the moment back.

And replays showed that Embolo had in fact dived when Paredes lunged in, throwing himself down before any contact.

The Argentina midfielder did eventually touch him, but not until the forward was already on his way down to the grass.

Therefore, the referee opted to change his decision in the quarter-final, using FIFA’s new mistaken identity rule.

The rule states that if a player is booked or sent off – but the foul was actually committed by the opposition team – the decision can be switched.

In this case, Embolo’s dive was the foul and Paredes was wrongly booked, so the yellow card switched parties.

Embolo’s early bath

Embolo was already on a yellow card following a foul earlier in the game, so with two bookings, he was sent off.

And after the decision, he was left furious, appealing with the officials alongside his angry teammates.

But that anger changed to tears in a matter of seconds, as the 29-year-old was forced to leave the pitch.

He could be seen being consoled by the Swiss squad, covering his face and crying as he walked down the tunnel.

AFP

Next up, England

For Switzerland or Argentina, it’s England in the semi-finals of the World Cup, following the Three Lions’ win over Norway.

Lionel Messi and co. couldn’t beat the Swiss in normal time though, being taken to extra time in Kansas City.

Alexis Mac Allister‘s opening goal in the first half was cancelled out by an equaliser from Dan Ndoye in the second half.

The reigning world champions then pressed for a late goal, but they couldn’t find a winner against 10 men.

And that meant the quarter-final went to extra time, just as England’s clash with Norway did earlier in the night.

That game saw Jude Bellingham step up in the added half an hour, with Messi now aiming to lead his nation.