According to Tagesspiegel, the video assistant referee intervened for the first time with a new authority during the US’s 4-1 win against Paraguay. Shortly after halftime, referee Danny Makkelie showed US captain Tim Ream a yellow card for an alleged foul on Paraguay’s Miguel Almirón. The free kick was already taken when the video assistant reported in.
Makkelie reviewed the scene and annulled the yellow card against Ream. Instead, Almirón received the caution for diving. TV viewers saw via an on-screen graphic that the scene had been reviewed due to mistaken identity.
The International Football Association Board (Ifab) had decided in the spring that the video assistant may now also intervene in cases of mistaken identity of players or teams. Previously, this only applied if the referee had cautioned or sent off the wrong player from the same team.
Source: www.tagesspiegel.de
