Three Red Cards in World Cup Opener: Referee Sampaio at the Center of Debate

ZDF expert Thorsten Kinhöfer assessed the decisions as fundamentally in line with the rules. The first red card was "crystal clear," he said. "From a rules standpoint, it is also defensible because you can see a striking motion," he added, referring to the second card. However, with the second card, a certain "theatrical performance" by the Mexican player also came into play. Kinhöfer continued: "If he had gotten up immediately and continued playing, there probably wouldn't have been a sanction." Overall, however, "all three cards can be given."

Experts Divided on Super-Slow-Motion in the VAR

On the role of the VAR, Kinhöfer explained: "But when the VAR sends him off, the referee has no choice but to give the red card." There is clear contact, "but we also know that the player almost draws the red card." In a summary assessment, he said: "In real time and without the opponent's playacting, it would not have been a red card, even if you can defend it from a rules perspective."

Former national team player and ZDF expert Christoph Kramer, a 2014 World Champion, voiced fundamental criticism of the way the VAR is handled. What annoys him most about the VAR is "this super-slow-motion." He demanded: "Simply don't play things back in super-slow-motion or slow motion, but always only in real time." Kramer also described how players exploit the system: "It always depends on how you fall. I played for two more years with VAR, and if someone just touched me, I had the paramedics come over and everything. I stayed down as long as possible because of course I knew the referee would look at it in super-slow-motion from many different angles." Kinhöfer partially agreed with Kramer.

Reactions on MagentaTV and ZDF

Patrick Ittrich, a former referee and expert at MagentaTV, also lamented the course of the evening. "Now everyone is talking about the referee, and that's after a World Cup opener. That sticks, and it's a shame," he said. "I think the match would have benefited if there had been only one red card."

Despite the turbulent closing phase, the Mexicans held on for the win. The day before, ZDF had already covered the group match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in an 8:01-minute segment, which the Asian side turned around after falling behind. For the Czech Republic, it was a return to the World Cup stage after 20 years.

Number of Ejections in Historical Comparison

The 2026 World Cup is being held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico; Mexico is a co-host. The group stage comprises twelve groups of four teams each. Already the first match of this tournament stood out: three ejections in a single game had never occurred in a World Cup opener – a figure likely to continue resonating in the debate over the VAR.

To put it in context, observers point to the statistics: at the previous World Cup in Qatar, only four red cards were shown throughout the entire tournament. On just the first matchday of this tournament, Sampaio has nearly reached that number – a circumstance likely to further fuel the discussion about the role and workings of the Video Assistant Referee.