Switzerland have warned England about 'one-sided refereeing' following their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina, which featured a controversial red card under a new mistaken identity law. Argentina needed extra time to secure a 3-1 win after Switzerland were reduced to 10 men when Breel Embolo received a second yellow card for simulation in the 72nd minute.
Controversial red card under new law
Embolo became the first player sent off as a result of a new law for mistaken identity at this summer's World Cup. Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes was initially shown a yellow card for tripping Embolo, but after a VAR review, Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro changed his decision and issued a second yellow card to Embolo for diving. The International Football Association Board, which oversees the laws of football, issued an update before the World Cup to cover 'mistaken identity' situations where a player was given a yellow card but the offence was committed by an opposing player.
Switzerland's anger over officiating
Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji criticised the referee's overall performance, claiming Argentine fouls and dives went unpunished. 'When you have the referee against you, it becomes difficult,' Akanji said. 'Every little thing was called against us. Every dive and every foul by the Argentinians went unpunished. I don't usually say anything against the officials, but I've never experienced such a one-sided game as today.' He added: 'If the game had continued 11 against 11, it would have likely gone in our favour.'
Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin described the decision as a 'refereeing error'. He said: 'After the equaliser, we clearly had the momentum on our side. Unfortunately, this was punished by a refereeing error. The referee shouldn't have given the Argentinian a yellow card in that situation. Then he corrects his own mistake and punishes us. That's incomprehensible.'
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka said: 'It's a huge decision that completely changes the game. It hurts a lot. The rules are the rules. We can't change them. But with this decision, he killed the game.'
FIFA responds to earlier complaint
Earlier this week, FIFA received an official complaint from Egypt over officiating in their 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the last-16. Egypt were furious with the decision to rule out Zico's goal and wanted a penalty for a foul on Mohamed Salah moments before Argentina scored a counter-attack winner. In response, FIFA's chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, rejected allegations of bias. 'Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials… equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president,' he said. 'Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best.'
England's semi-final challenge
Argentina will now face England in the World Cup semi-final at 8pm BST on Wednesday. England advanced by beating Norway 2-1, with Jude Bellingham scoring the winner. The match is expected to be tightly contested, with concerns over officiating looming large.
