World Cup: ‘Never happened before’ – Rio Ferdinand reacts to Embolo’s red card in Argentina win

Former England defender, Rio Ferdinand, has expressed shock regarding the VAR intervention that led to the dismissal of Switzerland’s Breel Embolo during their 3-1 loss to Argentina. 

The reigning world champions required extra time to defeat Switzerland after the quarter-final match ended in a 1-1 draw following 90 minutes.

The most significant moment of the match occurred in the second half when Swiss forward, Breel Embolo was sent off under dramatic circumstances. 

Leandro Paredes received a yellow card for a tackle on Embolo, but a VAR review resulted in the rescinding of his card and the issuance of a second yellow card to Embolo.

The replay indicated that Embolo had gone to the ground in search of a foul, initiating contact with Paredes.

Consequently, the referee overturned his initial decision and issued a second yellow card to the 29-year-old.

Pundit, Rio Ferdinand took to X to comment on the dramatic incident, stating that he had never witnessed anything like it before. 

The former Manchester United defender posted on X, “What… never seen that happen before? Crazy scenes.”

At the time of Embolo’s dismissal, the score was 1-1, with Alexis Mac Allister having scored for Argentina in the 10th minute. Switzerland equalized in the 67th minute through Dan Ndoye, but their momentum was completely lost following the red card.

Lionel Scaloni’s team ultimately secured a 3-1 victory in extra time, with Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez finding the net in the 114th and 120th minutes, respectively.

Argentina is set to face England at the Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday, July 15.