Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte was involved in a bizarre refereeing incident during the 1-1 friendly draw with England at Wembley, when he was shown two yellow cards but not sent off. The Manchester United player was first booked for a foul on Cole Palmer, then received a second yellow card for arguing with referee Sven Jablonski, yet remained on the pitch.
It was later clarified that the second yellow card had been “rescinded”, though no explanation was given for the decision. Ugarte was substituted shortly after by Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa. The error was one of several controversial moments on a difficult night for the officiating team.
England manager Thomas Tuchel was furious after a tackle by Ronald Araujo on Phil Foden went unpunished, forcing Foden to limp off. Harry Maguire expressed his anger, telling ITV: “You don’t see tackles like that and not get red cards. A couple of months from the World Cup and we’ve got referees allowing tackles like that.”
Maguire also criticised the late penalty decision that cost England victory. Ben White was judged to have fouled Federico Vinas, and Federico Valverde converted the spot-kick in the 94th minute to make it 1-1. “It’s soft,” Maguire said. “He’s kicked the ball over the bar. Ben just goes to try to block the shot.”
England next face Japan on Tuesday in their final match before Tuchel selects his World Cup squad.
