Here's how the internet is reacting to Breel Embolo's red card

It’s a bitter end to a tournament in which the Swiss national team made it all the way to the quarterfinals and was able not only to challenge the reigning world champions but also, at times, to dominate them. It was only in extra time that Murat Yakin’s team was defeated while playing a man down.

Heftige Debatte

Darf der VAR bei Embolos Schwalbe überhaupt eingreifen?

More than the Swiss team's great performance, it is the referees' decisions that are taking center stage. In particular, the scene that likely decided the game—involving the second yellow card against Breel Embolo.

“It’s a rule that has nothing to do with soccer. We were punished for it today. I find it absolutely incomprehensible—that rule ruined our game,” said Swiss national team coach Murat Yakin, clearly at a loss for words during the postgame press conference.

Heftige Debatte

Darf der VAR bei Embolos Schwalbe überhaupt eingreifen?

The 51-year-old is not alone in this opinion. Online, the incident has also been met with confusion:

"The VAR steps in to show Embolo a yellow card because the referee made the wrong call and cautioned Paredes? It was just a foul, not a yellow card—it can't be reviewed. Pure madness."

"The problem with the second yellow card isn't the diving rule. The referee wrongly showed a yellow card, and the Swiss player is being punished more severely. If the referee had just called the foul, Embolo would still be on the field."

"It's never a yellow card against Paredes. It's never a yellow card against Embolo. Either call it a normal foul or let play continue and tell the player to get back up. It's absurd how this turned out."

Among the critics are also supporters of the new rule, which states that if the wrong player is shown a yellow card, the VAR may intervene and the card is shown to the correct player. However, they would have liked the officiating crew to have shown more tact in this situation.

"Common sense. You NEVER get a yellow card for that in a live game. And just because the referee misjudged the play, Embolo has to be sent off?! Take back the yellow card against Argentina and give them the ball."

All this discussion is of no use to the Swiss national team. “We can’t change it,” Yakin says as well. In the end, however, the 51-year-old national team coach is still proud of what his team has accomplished in this game and throughout this tournament.