The International Football Association Board (IFAB), soccer’s global lawmakers, have confirmed that the VAR protocol surrounding mistaken identity was incorrectly used at the 2026 World Cup and stressed that it should not be used to punish individual acts of simulation—as it was when Switzerland had Breel Embolo sent off against Argentina.
Throughout the tournament in North America, particularly in the knockout stages, Lionel Messi’s surge to the final was played to a backdrop of bubbling conspiracy theories. Egypt manager Hossam Hassan vocalized those complaints after his nation’s divisive round of 16 defeat: “It’s all about money. They want Messi to stay in the tournament. In football, many things happen off the pitch because of interests.”
