​Kansas City, Mo. — Quiet down, conspiracy theorists. If you’re hellbent on arguing that FIFA is rigging the World Cup for Lionel Messi and Argentina, you’ll need a stronger case than this. The red card given to Switzerland’s Breel Embolo was the correct call. Whether it happened in the opening minute or in the 72nd, as it did on Saturday, July 11, when Switzerland had begun to threaten, you cannot excuse Embolo’s actions. He flopped as if he’d been struck, with Leandro Paredes nowhere near him, and then kicked at Paredes as he went to the ground. The stupidity was amplified by the fact that Embolo was already on a yellow card. If you want to be reckless, do it off the clock. Not in a World Cup knockout match, and certainly not when a victory would propel Switzerland to its first-ever semifinal.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Switzerland met in a World Cup quarterfinal with a semifinal berth on the line. You can see the moments from the clash in Kansas City as the defending champions sought to preserve their title bid against a swarming Swiss side. Above, Messi is pictured warming up before the 2026 World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and Switzerland at Kansas City Stadium on July 11, 2026, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Carl Recine, Getty Images)
Watching Embolo walk off the field in tears was painful. He had the presence of mind to realize his mistake, but it was too late. His foul left Switzerland a man down for the remainder of the game, which Argentina ultimately won 3-1 in extra time. Argentina would go on to face England in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 15, for a place in the World Cup final.
Of course, given Argentina’s pedigree and the supposed slippage of refereeing in this tournament, there were no shortage of voices insisting Embolo’s red card proved a fixed outcome for Messi and the Albiceleste. Yet just because the United States president opted to act like a mob boss over Folarin Balogun’s red-card suspension in the round of 16 against Belgium—an endeavor that did not go so smoothly as his prior efforts with the reflecting pool—and because FIFA’s moral code often seems as flexible as a rubber band, that does not mean Argentina is receiving a free pass to a second consecutive World Cup title. Sometimes, what appears on the surface is nothing more than a mirage.
Yes, there have been questionable calls in this tournament. VAR usage has been perplexing, and a serious post-tournament discussion is warranted about whether FIFA wants to continue operating with referees confined to a windowless box making calls that were never meant to be delegated in that manner. But it’s equally true that not every controversial decision signals foul play. Do star players and top teams enjoy the benefit of the doubt? Probably. Do those decisions always indicate a grand conspiracy? Not necessarily. The reality is that there are human elements at play, and while some calls have skewed in favor of Argentina, others have gone against them, too. The idea that every favorable decision is part of a grand scheme underestimates the complexity of officiating at the highest level and the imperfect nature of any officiating system.