Calls
Real incidents broken down using the exact IFAB laws referees apply.
Every one of them is also a row in the record, the table of what was called against what the Laws require.
Foden's red card
Midway through the first half at Old Trafford, Phil Foden was on the ground when Bruno Fernandes kicked him in the back and swung a leg round at the ball and the player. Foden kicked out with both feet into Fernandes's stomach. Referee Michael Oliver sent Foden off and the VAR check confirmed it. Law 12 defines violent conduct as using or attempting to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, and violent conduct is a sending-off offence.
Haaland's winner and Enzo Fernández's offside
On the hour at Old Trafford, Joško Gvardiol crossed from the left and Erling Haaland finished at the far post for Manchester City's winner. The goal was first ruled out for offside. The VAR, Matt Donohue, found Haaland onside and judged that Enzo Fernández, in an offside position in front of goal, had not played the ball, and the goal was given. Law 11 does not require the offside player to touch the ball: clearly attempting to play a ball which is close, when the action impacts on an opponent, is an offside offence.
Lejeune's trip on Carreras
In the 14th minute at the Bernabéu, Álvaro Carreras ran at the corner of the Rayo penalty area and Florian Lejeune put his leg across him and tripped him. Referee Víctor García Verdura gave the penalty and showed no card, and Kylian Mbappé scored it. The penalty is a trip inside the offender's own area. The absence of a card is not leniency: Law 12's caution for stopping a promising attack is expressly excluded where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball.
Gordon's tackle on Rincón
Hugo Rincón had the ball at the Camp Nou when Anthony Gordon came in from behind with both legs to intercept it. He got the ball first and then went over the top of Rincón's leg with a follow-through. Referee Ortiz Arias gave the free kick and showed nothing. Law 12 makes a challenge an offence and sets its sanction on the same three words, careless, reckless or excessive force, and a player who acts with disregard to the danger to an opponent must be cautioned.
Guruzeta's boot to Cubarsí's head
A loose ball in midfield was within playing distance of both players. Pau Cubarsí went down with his head to reach it and Gorka Guruzeta kicked through, catching him on the head. Referee Ortiz Arias cautioned Guruzeta in the 48th minute. Law 12's ladder decides this without reference to where the contact landed: the leg was retracted rather than driven through, so the challenge is reckless rather than serious foul play, and a reckless challenge must be cautioned.
Yamal's step on a defender
Lamine Yamal ran into the Athletic penalty area, went past one defender, planted his foot to change direction and stepped with the studs onto a second defender who had put a leg in front of him. The defender was hurt. Referee Ortiz Arias gave the free kick and no card, and VAR did not intervene. The contact point and the injury are what make this look like a red card, and neither is a category in Law 12: the ladder runs on how the contact was made, and this was careless.
Le Normand's push on Mikautadze
With the score 1-1 at the Metropolitano, Georges Mikautadze ran into the Atlético penalty area and got a shot away as Robin Le Normand pushed him. Referee Alejandro José Hernández Hernández gave nothing live and play continued. VAR called him to the monitor, he awarded a penalty and sent Le Normand off in the 76th minute, and Mikautadze scored it. Law 12 downgrades a penalty-area sending-off to a caution only where the offence was an attempt to play the ball or a challenge for it, and names holding, pulling and pushing as the cases that stay red.
Chust's trip on Raphinha
Fermín López played Raphinha through inside the Elche penalty area in the 15th minute. Víctor Chust went for the ball, missed it and tripped him, and referee Quintero González gave the penalty with no card shown. Raphinha scored it. The absence of a card is not the referee being soft: Law 12's caution for stopping a promising attack carries an express exception where a penalty kick is awarded for an offence that was an attempt to play the ball.
Calatrava's challenge on Carreras
Early in the second half at the RCDE Stadium, Álvaro Carreras took a heavy touch and went after the loose ball. Álex Calatrava swung through to clear it, missed, and caught Carreras high on the leg. The free kick was given and no card was shown. Law 12 puts the sanction on how the challenge was made rather than on whether the ball was there to be won, and a full-force swing at a contested loose ball is disregard for the consequences to an opponent.
Altimira's kick into Batrakov
In the first half in Lisbon, Sergi Altimira went for a ball in the air, missed it, and caught Aleksei Batrakov in the midriff with his studs, his leg close to straight. The referee gave Galatasaray a free kick and showed Altimira a yellow card. Batrakov needed treatment and played on, and Sporting won 3-1. Law 12 says a challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent must be sanctioned as serious foul play, which is a sending-off offence.
Vinicius Júnior's slow substitution
With Real Madrid leading Inter 2-1, Vinicius Júnior was substituted in the 87th minute for Álvaro Carreras and took well over ten seconds to leave the field. Referee Michael Oliver did not let Carreras on, so Real Madrid played on with ten men until a stoppage more than a minute later. Vinicius was not cautioned. Law 3 gives a slow exit two separate consequences: the substitute waits, and the player leaving is cautioned where the delay to the restart is excessive. Oliver applied the first and not the second.
Wan-Bissaka's handball
Aaron Wan-Bissaka closed an attacker down inside the Aston Villa penalty area just before the hour, and as the pass was played he set himself with his arm open at shoulder height, two to three metres away. The ball struck the arm and ran behind, and Sandro Schärer gave a corner. VAR sent him to the monitor, the corner became a penalty kick, and no card was shown. Nicolò Tresoldi scored it on 61 minutes for 3-2. Both halves of that are right: the arm was in a position his body movement did not justify, and Law 12 excepts a non-deliberate handball penalised by a penalty kick from the promising-attack caution in the clause's own words.
Embolo's red card
With the quarter-final level at 1-1 in the 72nd minute, referee Joao Pinheiro cautioned Argentina's Leandro Paredes for a challenge on Breel Embolo. VAR told him there had been no contact, and the caution was moved across to Embolo for simulation. It was Embolo's second of the match, so he was sent off. The mistaken identity category exists to correct which player is carded for an offence the referee has penalised. It does not let a review decide that the offence never happened.
Barbarez's thrown ball
Late in the United States' 2-0 win at Levi's Stadium, Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez protested a challenge on Esmir Bajraktarevic that referee Raphael Claus had waved away. He took hold of the ball, held it for about five seconds while shouting, came out of his technical area, and then threw the ball at the head of a United States player. Claus cautioned him. Law 12 keeps a separate list for team officials, and two separate entries on its sending-off list reach this: holding onto the ball to delay the opponents' restart, and physical or aggressive behaviour towards an opposing player.
Tah's disallowed goal
Jonathan Tah headed Germany in front in the 12th minute of extra time in Atlanta, from a corner, and the goal was disallowed after a VAR review found that Waldemar Anton had blocked Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill. Julian Nagelsmann called it a scandal. On the footage Anton and Gill are in contact, and Anton neither pushes the goalkeeper nor moves into him: he stands where he already was. Law 12 says in terms that being in the way of an opponent is not the same as moving into the way of an opponent, so there is no impeding offence and the goal should have stood.
Canada's goalkeeper's flying challenge
Switzerland were awarded a penalty after the Canadian goalkeeper, attempting a flying challenge for the ball, accidentally struck the attacker with his head instead. Two earlier passes in the buildup were checked for offside and confirmed clean. A clear case of denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, correctly downgraded to a yellow card since the keeper made a genuine attempt to play the ball.
Konsa's challenge on Adu
Ghana's Adu was through on goal in the 79th minute when he went down under a challenge from England's Ezri Konsa inside the box. No penalty was given, and VAR did not intervene since the contact wasn't judged to be a clear and obvious error. A former elite referee's post-match analysis said he believed it was a foul.
Uzbekistan's disallowed goal
Uzbekistan intercepted the ball and scored, with the referee allowing a long celebration before VAR called him over. Replay showed a clear tackle on the opponent in the buildup that should have been called live. The goal was correctly disallowed on review.
Mac Allister's challenge before Messi's goal
Shortly before Messi's opening goal, Alexis Mac Allister made a challenge on an Austrian opponent. Argentina won the ball back and scored shortly after. No VAR review was triggered. While VAR would have been justified reviewing it, the contact wasn't a clear enough mistake to demand intervention.
Schlager and Posch's double tackle on Martinez
Lautaro Martinez was through in the box when Austria's Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch both slid in at the same time. A fan poll of over 200,000 votes had 65 percent saying penalty, with many arguing it should not count because one defender appeared to touch the ball first. VAR confirmed the penalty regardless.
Ngoy's pull on Taremi
Nathan Ngoy mis-kicked a simple backpass, allowing Mehdi Taremi to intercept and sprint clear with a path to goal. Ngoy dragged him down by the shoulder just outside the box. Despite the contact looking fairly mild, this is a clean DOGSO red card.
Taremi's disallowed free-kick goal
Mehdi Taremi appeared to score from a smartly worked free-kick routine in the 25th minute. The goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR review found Taremi was marginally offside, his back turned to goal with his backside fractionally over the line.
Almiron's red card for covering his mouth
Miguel Almiron and Türkiye's Mert Müldür exchanged words following a foul near midfield. Almiron covered his mouth while speaking to Müldür, who appealed to referee Ivan Barton. A VAR review confirmed a red card under a provision introduced for this World Cup and being tested there, which sanctions the covering regardless of what was actually said. It is not part of the Laws of the Game. Paraguay held on to win 1-0 with ten men, eliminating Türkiye.
Freeman's goal after the offside flag
Alex Freeman headed in USA's second goal after Sergino Dest's blocked shot looped up. The assistant referee flagged offside immediately. A VAR review using semi-automated offside technology found Freeman was onside, and the goal stood. Australia's bench argued teammate Folarin Balogun had impeded the goalkeeper, but replays did not support that claim.
The Bosnia defender's red card
A Bosnian defender challenged a Swiss attacker outside the penalty area, missed the ball entirely, and made clear contact with the attacker's foot. With no covering defenders and a clear sight of goal, this was a textbook denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity, correctly punished with a straight red since it happened outside the box.
Al Amin's trip on Buchanan
Referee Cristian Garay initially awarded Canada a penalty and a yellow card to Qatar's Homam Al Amin for a last-man trip on Tajon Buchanan. VAR review found the foul happened just outside the penalty area, changing the outcome to a free kick and upgrading the card to a straight red for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Sulc's handball
Thapelo Maseko's long-range shot in the 83rd minute struck the arm of Czechia's Pavel Sulc inside the box. Referee Tori Penso pointed to the spot, and Teboho Mokoena converted to earn South Africa a 1-1 draw. Reporting is split on whether Sulc's arm was tucked close to his body or extended away from it, which is the exact detail the handball law turns on.
Kane's retaken penalty
Harry Kane's penalty was saved by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, but referee Clement Turpin ordered a retake after replays showed Livakovic stepping off his line early, and that Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol had also encroached into the penalty area. Kane scored on the second attempt.
Mané's sliding tackle on Mbappé
Mbappe was dribbling at speed when Mane slid in to challenge. Mane missed the ball entirely and caught Mbappe's foot. Referee Alireza Faghani waved away the appeal, initially calling a corner, then a goal kick after a VAR review, ruling that Mbappe had initiated the contact. Replays clearly show the opposite: Mane attempted to play the ball, missed, and fouled Mbappe.
Modric's missed clearance on Madueke
Luka Modric attempted to clear the ball inside his own penalty area, missed it, and fouled Noni Madueke. The referee correctly awarded a penalty, a careless challenge with no card needed.
Messi's studs down Mandi's calf
Messi went after the ball from behind, grabbed Mandi with both hands and raked his studs down the back of Mandi's calf. Mandi went down in pain. The referee did not show any card, and VAR did not even recommend a review. Algeria has since filed a formal complaint with FIFA.
Messi's fall in the box
In the 73rd minute, Messi tried to get past a defender and went down. The contact was a fair, normal shoulder-to-hip challenge, with no trip involved. No penalty was given, and no VAR review was triggered. Correct call.
Saliba's stamp on a grounded opponent
Senegal's number 18 went down with the ball, and France's William Saliba stamped on his foot as the player was on the ground. The referee waved it off as no offence, only stopping play afterward once he noticed the player was injured. This was a clear reckless stamp that should have drawn a yellow card.
Doku's fall with no contact
Jeremy Doku tried to dribble past two Egyptian defenders in the penalty area. Both defenders had a foot in front of him, but there was no contact at all. Doku went to ground anyway. The referee waved play on rather than carding it as simulation.
The hold on Zizo
Egypt's Zizo tried to get past a Belgian defender, went down, and Egypt's players appealed for a free kick that wasn't given. The defender held Zizo rather than fouling him with contact, and the holding started and ended outside the penalty area, which rules out both a penalty and a DOGSO red card. The correct call was a free kick and a yellow card for stopping a promising attack.
Abunada's foul on Freuler and the VAR outage
Switzerland were awarded a penalty after goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada brought down Remo Freuler. The decision itself wasn't the controversy, a technical outage prevented the offside graphic from displaying, leaving fans unable to verify whether the buildup play was even legal.
The defender's extended arm
A defender had a clear view of an incoming shot and extended his arm away from his body before the ball struck it. Almost no one reacted on the pitch, and no penalty was given. Since the shot was anticipated and the arm wasn’t in a natural position, this should have been a penalty for handball.
Fabinho's follow-through
Fabinho contested the ball with a Moroccan opponent, both players got a touch on it, but Fabinho followed through with a straight leg and exposed studs onto the opponent's foot. A free kick was given, but no card.
Bruno Guimaraes's stamp on Hakimi
Bruno Guimaraes caught Achraf Hakimi with a stamp on the foot during a challenge, a similar pattern to an earlier missed call on Vinicius Junior in the same match. No card was shown. The contact wasn't dangerous enough for a red card, but it was a clear reckless challenge that should have drawn a yellow.
The shot that may have brushed an arm
A shot toward goal appeared to brush a defender's arm, which was extended away from his body. Replays suggested slight contact, but neither the players nor the referee reacted, and VAR did not intervene. From VAR's perspective, the contact wasn't certain enough to count as a clear and obvious error.
The tackle on Vinicius Junior
Just before halftime, Vinicius Junior was tackled and the contact was mostly on his foot. The referee missed the incident entirely, no free kick and no card. While the contact wasn't forceful enough to be serious foul play, it was a clear reckless challenge that should have drawn a yellow card.
The corner that was never given
The goalkeeper saved a shot with his hand and the ball appeared to go out for a corner, but a corner kick was not given. VAR could not intervene, and not because the mistake was unclear: the reviewable category is a corner kick that was clearly incorrectly awarded, and a corner that was never given is not one that was wrongly awarded.
The card moved from Ream to Almiron
Referee Danny Makkelie initially booked USA's Tim Ream for a foul on Paraguay's Miguel Almiron, then reviewed it and switched the card to Almiron for simulation. Using the mistaken identity rule this way was correct, that is exactly what it exists for. The actual error was the restart: once the original free kick had already been taken and the ball was back in play, the referee should not have been able to change it to a fresh indirect free kick. The correct restart was a dropped ball.
Montes's red card for the challenge on Mudau
In stoppage time, César Montes ran into South Africa right back Khuliso Mudau just outside the penalty area as Mudau charged down the right towards the box, and was sent off for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. Whether it was that, or a promising attack stopped, turns on where Mexico's other defenders were, and no report says.
Sithole's pull on Gutiérrez
Brian Gutiérrez was clean through on goal, clear of defenders with only the goalkeeper ahead. Sithole grabbed him from behind just outside the penalty area, bringing him down. Straight red for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, confirmed by VAR as a clear and correct decision.
Zwane's strike on Alvarado
Themba Zwane made contact with Roberto Alvarado's face during play, away from a genuine challenge for the ball. VAR reviewed and confirmed red card for violent conduct. FIFA later extended his suspension under Article 14, the specific rule for violent contact.
Lampard's ghost goal
Frank Lampard's shot hit the crossbar and bounced clearly over the goal line by nearly a metre. The referee and linesman did not award the goal. England lost 4-1. This incident directly led to goal-line technology being introduced.
Tevez's offside goal
Carlos Tevez scored while clearly offside by nearly a metre. The linesman did not flag. Argentina went on to win 3-1. The image of Tevez celebrating while clearly ahead of the last defender became one of the defining images of officiating failure.
Henry's handball before Gallas's goal
Thierry Henry controlled the ball with his hand twice before setting up William Gallas to score the goal that sent France to the World Cup instead of Ireland. Henry admitted the handball after the match.
Maradona's Hand of God goal
Maradona punched the ball into the net with his left hand. The referee did not see it and allowed the goal. There was no VAR in 1986. It is the most famous wrong decision in football history.