In the USA vs Paraguay World Cup match on June 12, Dutch referee Danny Makkelie was sent to the pitchside monitor by Spanish VAR Carlos del Cerro Grande to review his decision to book USA captain Tim Ream for fouling Paraguay forward Miguel Almiron. Makkelie reversed Ream's yellow card and issued one to Almiron instead for diving.
The decision appeared to invoke the new 'mistaken identity' VAR rule, which allows corrections when the referee "has clearly penalised the wrong player," per IFAB guidelines. However, BBC Sport sources confirmed the decision was technically incorrect. VAR protocol states "the offence itself cannot be reviewed" under mistaken identity rules, and the rule does not cover scenarios where an opposing player dived and an opponent received an erroneous booking.
The reversal felt intuitively right—punishing simulation rather than a legitimate foul—but exceeded the actual scope of current regulations. FIFA has not yet clarified how this incident reflects the intended application of VAR changes at the 2026 World Cup.
Confusion around VAR rule interpretation in early tournament matches may affect in-play betting markets, as punters reassess consistency of official decisions under the new protocols.
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