Rio Ferdinand couldn't believe what he saw. The former England defender took to social media after Switzerland's Breel Embolo was sent off in a shocking VAR incident during Argentina's 3-1 extra-time victory.
The quarter-final thriller remained locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes, forcing the teams into extra time. That's when the drama unfolded that left Ferdinand stunned.
Embolo hit the deck looking for contact with Leandro Paredes in the second half, initiating the contact himself. The referee initially showed Paredes a yellow card for the challenge.
VAR intervened and reversed that decision entirely. Instead, Embolo received a second yellow card and walked off the pitch.
"What… never seen that happen before? Crazy scenes," Ferdinand posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The intervention left many questioning the decision's validity.
At the moment of the dismissal, the score stood level at 1-1. Alexis Mac Allister had put Argentina ahead in the 10th minute before Dan Ndoye equalised for Switzerland in the 67th minute.
The red card shifted the momentum decisively. Switzerland couldn't recover from the disadvantage and Argentina capitalised ruthlessly.
Julian Alvarez extended the lead in the 114th minute of extra time. Lautaro Martinez then added a third six minutes later to seal the result.
Coach Lionel Scaloni's reigning world champions will next face England. The semi-final clash is scheduled for Wednesday, July 15 at Atlanta Stadium.
