Manuel Ugarte avoids sending off despite getting two yellow cards and decision is reversed in bizarre moment

Mar 27, 2026 - 23:30
Manuel Ugarte avoids sending off despite getting two yellow cards and decision is reversed in bizarre moment

Thomas Tuchel couldn’t hide his fury as Manuel Ugarte somehow avoided a red card against England – despite being booked twice!

The Three Lions were held to a 1-1 draw with Uruguay at Wembley after VAR awarded the visitors a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage-time.

Manuel Ugarte speaks to Fernando Muslera of Uruguay during the international friendly match between England and Uruguay at Wembley Stadium
Ugarte escaped a red card despite being booked twice against England
Getty

Arsenal’s Ben White went from villain to hero and back again after making his first England appearance in four years.

The 28-year-old looked to have silenced the Wembley boo boys that greeted his substitution by scoring his first senior international goal.

However, White was penalised by VAR in stoppage time for a challenge on Federico Viñas that saw Uruguay awarded a penalty.

Real Madrid star Federico Valverde duly made no mistake from the spot, but the result left a bitter taste in the mouths of Tuchel and Co.

That was because VAR had already twice failed to intervene on earlier controversial incidents surrounding two red cards for Uruguay.

First, Ronald Araújo somehow avoided being sent off for a potential leg-breaking tackle on Phil Foden that left Tuchel seething.

The Manchester City playmaker attempted to continue playing for a few minutes before he was replaced by Cole Palmer, having limped around the pitch.

The Chelsea talisman then proved the catalyst for the game’s most bizarre moment when he was wiped out by Ugarte on 70 minutes.

The Manchester United midfielder was cautioned for the foul and then received a second yellow card five minutes from time.

Replays showed Ugarte being booked by German referee Sven Jablonski for dissent in the aftermath of White’s opening goal.

Manuel Ugarte receiving his first yellow card for a foul on Cole Palmer
Ugarte was shown a yellow card for a foul on Palmer
Getty
Manuel Ugarte was booked for a second time against England
Ugarte was then cautioned again – which was later ‘rescinded’
ITV

Ugarte shown two yellows but one rescinded

To add insult to injury, the fourth official allegedly said that the second yellow was rescinded and Ugarte was hurriedly subbed off.

ITV presenter Mark Pougatch subsequently confirmed that Ugarte’s yellow card was supposedly shown instead to José María Gimenez.

In response, Ian Wright said: “They are making it up as they go along, like we didn’t see what we saw.

“The challenge on Palmer was Ugarte, and then it looked like he got done for dissent as well.”

It was recently confirmed that VAR will be allowed to review second yellow cards and corners at the World Cup, but it is not yet in place.

Ben White concedes a penalty against Uruguay.
White, who was booed by England fans, conceded a late penalty
Getty

Tuchel issues Foden update

On the current state of Foden, and Noni Madueke, who was also forced off through injury, an irate Tuchel told talkSPORT’s Faye Carruthers post-match: “No VAR checked these two tackles, but then suddenly they checked the soft one in the end.

“So very strange decision-making. I’m very sad and upset, of course, for Noni, because I think he was electric, he was on fire.

“He was ready to go from the start. And we built the structure for him to go in one-on-ones. And they play almost man-mark.

“So I think it was a matter of time until he could make the difference for us. Very, very sad. I hope it’s not too bad.

Ronald Araujo tackles Phil Foden at Wembley
Araujo wasn’t even shown a yellow for this tackle on Foden
AFP
Ronald Araujo tackles Phil Foden at Wembley
Tuchel admitted that he feared Foden had broken his leg initially
AFP

“And I think Phil got away with it, because it could have been horrible. I thought he broke his leg.

“I was just six meters away or eight meters away. It sounded terrible.
And then we needed, of course, the break for treatment.

“And there was no check on VAR, which was very disappointing. But it also affected the game because we had to rush into substitutions, which we would have liked to take later in two slots.

“And then suddenly we lost the slots. So it cost us a little bit. But we dealt with everything quite well.

“No one got upset, except for the coach. But no one got upset on the field and played with a positive attitude, and it was a good step.”

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