How a new and unusual VAR rule was used during United States vs Paraguay
· Yahoo Sports
The United States vs Paraguay match in Los Angeles, played in Group D of the 2026 World Cup, produced one of the most unusual early uses of VAR’s expanded powers.
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The incident involved Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, United States defender Tim Ream and Paraguay attacker Miguel Almirón.
Makkelie initially booked Ream for an alleged foul on Almirón, but the decision was later changed after a VAR review for mistaken identity.
What happened with Tim Ream and Miguel Almirón
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty ImagesThe incident happened early in the second half. Makkelie judged that Ream had fouled Almirón and showed the United States defender a yellow card.
The unusual detail was that play had already continued. Paraguay had taken the free-kick and the ball was back in play before VAR intervened.
After reviewing the incident at the monitor, Makkelie changed his decision. The referee rescinded Ream’s yellow card and booked Almirón for simulation.
The review was not simply about rejudging an ordinary foul. The key point was that the player initially punished was not the player who should have received the card.
Why VAR could intervene after play had restarted
The explanation sits in the VAR protocol, which allows intervention when there is mistaken identity involving a yellow or red card.
As a general rule, the scope for a review is reduced once play has restarted. However, cases where the wrong player is sanctioned are among the specific exceptions.
The law changes for the 2026 World Cup expanded VAR’s use in defined situations, including clearly incorrect second yellow cards, mistaken identity and some wrongly awarded corner kicks.
The new VAR powers were introduced as part of a wider package of tournament rule adjustments.
That is why the incident stood out. It was not a routine check after a stoppage, but a disciplinary correction allowed by a specific rule even though the ball was already back in play.
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