FIFA’s law-making body, IFAB, issues a clarification about how VAR should handle certain “mistaken identity” scenarios, following a red card decision involving Switzerland forward Breel Embolo at the World Cup. Multiple reports say IFAB confirms that the VAR protocol for “mistaken identity” cases was not applicable under the tournament’s circumstances in this incident. The clarification is published by the FIFA-backed panel responsible for football’s Laws of the Game and is intended to explain how officials should interpret and apply VAR guidelines in cases where a referee may have identified the wrong player. The reports characterize the Embolo red card as a decision that was reached through an incorrect application of the VAR framework related to mistaken identity. By clarifying the correct VAR eligibility rules for such situations, IFAB aims to reduce ambiguity for future competitions. The clarification focuses on the correct use of VAR protocol rather than any change to the Laws themselves.