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National team pushed Argentina to the limit – but everything had to be perfect for a first-ever World Cup semifinal appe
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Sports

National team pushed Argentina to the limit – but everything had to be perfect for a first-ever World Cup semifinal appearance

From Neue Zürcher Zeitung · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • The Swiss national football team lost to Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals after a controversial red card.
  • Players and the coach blamed the referee's decision in the 72nd minute, which followed a VAR review, for changing the game's course.
  • Despite feeling they could have won, the team acknowledged the red card for simulation was technically correct, though self-inflicted.

The Swiss national football team is grappling with their World Cup quarterfinal exit, with players and coach Murat Yakin pointing to a controversial refereeing decision as the turning point in their match against Argentina. The team felt they had more to offer against an Argentinian side they believed was not insurmountable, and the pivotal moment came in the 72nd minute.

Following a well-executed attack that resulted in Dan Ndoye's equalizer, leveling the score at 1-1, Switzerland appeared to gain momentum. However, in the best phase of their play, striker Breel Embolo fell after a challenge with Leandro Paredes. The referee initially cautioned Paredes, but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened. According to a new rule introduced for this World Cup, the VAR can prompt a review if the referee made a 'mistaken identity' error.

It is a rule that should not exist in a World Cup quarterfinal. That the referee's mistake must be corrected in such a way that we are weakened is incomprehensible to me.

— Murat YakinThe Swiss national coach expressed his frustration with the referee's decision and the rule that led to Embolo's red card.

In this instance, the Portuguese referee João Pinheiro had incorrectly cautioned Paredes. Upon reviewing the video footage, the referee rescinded the card for Paredes and instead issued a yellow card to Embolo for simulation. As Embolo had already received a yellow card in the first half, this resulted in a red card and his expulsion from the match.

"It is a rule that should not exist in a World Cup quarterfinal," Yakin stated in a TV interview. "That the referee's mistake must be corrected in such a way that we are weakened is incomprehensible to me." Captain Granit Xhaka added in the mixed zone, "The sending-off changed the entire course of the game. It hurts that we had to lose because of a single refereeing decision." While acknowledging the harshness of the decision, the Swiss players recognized that, technically, the red card for simulation was correct, albeit self-inflicted.

The sending-off changed the entire course of the game. It hurts that we had to lose because of a single refereeing decision.

— Granit XhakaThe Swiss captain lamented the impact of the red card on the match's outcome.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Neue Zürcher Zeitung in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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