An unprecedented event occurred when the referee canceled a yellow card given to a United States player and instead issued it to Miguel Almirón, based on conclusive evidence from VAR.
On 13 June 2026, an unprecedented event took place when the referee canceled a yellow card initially shown to Tim Ream, a United States national team player, and instead gave it to Paraguayan attacker Miguel Almirón. This happened due to evidence from VAR during the 2026 World Cup group stage match in Group D, the first match of the round, in which the USA defeated Paraguay 4-1 earlier this morning Thai time.
The incident occurred in the second half when Tim Ream, a US defender, was initially booked with a yellow card for a foul. However, after VAR reviewed the slow-motion footage, it was revealed that Miguel Almirón, Paraguay’s midfielder, had simulated a fall. Consequently, the referee canceled Tim Ream’s yellow card.
The referee then issued the yellow card to Miguel Almirón instead for simulation. This marked the first time the mistaken identity rule was applied in a World Cup tournament after the rules were amended to allow VAR to review yellow cards if it is clearly an unintentional error in judgment.