Switzerland players and coach have criticised the officiating in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to Argentina, warning England ahead of their semi-final clash with the South American side. Argentina needed extra time to secure a 3-1 win, but the match was overshadowed by a controversial red card for Switzerland forward Breel Embolo in the 72nd minute.
Embolo became the first player sent off under a new mistaken identity law introduced before the tournament. Initially, Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes was shown a yellow card for a challenge on Embolo, but after a VAR review, Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro changed his decision and gave Embolo a second yellow card for simulation. The International Football Association Board had updated the law to cover situations where a player is wrongly cautioned for an offence committed by an opponent.
Switzerland's fury over refereeing decisions
Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji expressed his frustration after the match, claiming that Argentine fouls and dives went unpunished. 'When you have the referee against you, it becomes difficult,' Akanji said. 'Every little thing was called against us. Every dive and every foul by the Argentinians went unpunished. I don't usually say anything against the officials, but I've never experienced such a one-sided game as today.'
Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin also criticised the decision, calling it 'incomprehensible.' He said: 'After the equaliser, we clearly had the momentum on our side. Unfortunately, this was punished by a refereeing error. The referee shouldn't have given the Argentinian a yellow card in that situation. Then he corrects his own mistake and punishes us. That's incomprehensible and beyond my comprehension.'
Captain Xhaka: 'He killed the game'
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka was equally scathing. 'It's a huge decision that completely changes the game. It hurts a lot,' Xhaka said. 'The rules are the rules. We can't change them. But with this decision, he killed the game. That's my opinion. I don't know what else the referee could have done. But he shouldn't have done that.'
Earlier in the tournament, Egypt also complained to FIFA about officiating in their 3-2 defeat to Argentina in the last-16. Egypt were unhappy with a disallowed goal and a penalty not given for a foul on Mohamed Salah. FIFA's chief refereeing officer, Pierluigi Collina, rejected allegations of bias, saying: 'Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials… equally, nobody can claim that FIFA refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the FIFA president.'
England prepare for Argentina semi-final
Argentina will face England in the World Cup semi-final at 8pm BST on Wednesday. The Swiss players' comments serve as a warning to England about potential refereeing bias, though FIFA has denied any favouritism. England advanced after a 2-1 win over Norway, with Jude Bellingham scoring the winner.
