الجزائر vs الأرجنتين

Argentina's #10 was correctly penalised for a foul on the Algeria player, but the referee's decision to give no card at all was incorrect under IFAB Law 12. The frames show the Argentina player's arm making contact with the Algeria opponent's upper body and head area at a raised position, with sufficient force to send the Algeria player to the ground. Even accepting that the contact was accidental, swinging an arm into an opponent's head region during a challenge constitutes reckless play, which under Law 12 mandates at minimum a yellow card regardless of intent. VAR reviewed the incident and declined to escalate to a red card — that specific decision is within the defensible range given the borderline force involved and the accidental nature of the contact — but the complete absence of any disciplinary action for a reckless challenge at head height is the missed call here. The correct outcome was a foul plus a yellow card to Argentina #10, with the possibility of upgrade to red after VAR review.