The 2026 World Cup made referees learn new rules in public

FIFA sent 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials to the 2026 World Cup. It also brought connected-ball technology, upgraded semi-automated offside and referee body cameras. The tournament did more than add information to officiating: it changed what a referee could correct, punish and explain. 1

In the USA's 4-1 win over Paraguay, Miguel Almirón went down alongside Tim Ream. Referee Danny Makkelie booked Ream. Minutes later, the VAR review sent Makkelie to the monitor, the yellow card was erased and Almirón was booked for simulation. Ream became the first World Cup player to benefit from the new "mistaken identity" rule, which lets officials correct a yellow or red card given to the wrong player. 2

That is VAR doing a useful, limited job. It did not ask the referee to re-judge every collision. It corrected the identity of the person being punished. The distinction matters: the review made the match fairer without making the referee irrelevant.

Paraguay's Almirón was later sent off against Türkiye for covering his mouth while speaking to an opponent. It was the first red card under a tournament rule aimed at provocative or derisive communication. Players had been warned, and the rule has a sensible target: stop abuse hidden from cameras and officials. But the decisive evidence is the part viewers cannot hear. They see the gesture, not the words. 3

That is the uncomfortable trade-off. A rule can make a boundary clearer for players while making the decision harder for everyone watching. The 2026 tournament also exposed the same problem when the revised "mistaken identity" process altered a second-yellow decision in Switzerland's quarter-final against Argentina, as The Guardian reported. 4

Portugal-Croatia supplied the cleanest image of technology's double edge. Four goals were disallowed in one match, a tournament first. In the 103rd minute, Josko Gvardiol thought he had equalised, but a sensor detected the slightest contact between the ball and a teammate's head. Gvardiol was onside when the pass was made; that tiny touch changed the reference point. Portugal manager Roberto Martínez called it clear. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said the decisions had "killed" the emotion. 5

The lesson is not that VAR ruined the World Cup. It is that FIFA bundled three different experiments into one tournament: correct the wrong player, infer hidden words from a gesture, and turn a microscopic touch into an offside line. The first improved fairness. The second improved enforcement. The third improved precision. All three needed clearer communication than they received.