Wembley Stadium has seen better occassions than England‘s 1-1 draw against Uruguay on Friday. So drab was the whole affair that a significant number of England fans had already left the ground before Ben White‘s goal in the 81st minute, never mind for Federico Valverde‘s equaliser in injury time.
The booing of White was the big talking point from the game, but there was a moment of bizzareness for which this game is likely to feature in pub quizzes of the future. And it involved Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
ESPN breaks it all down.
What happened with Ugarte?
The midfielder, who started for Uruguay at Wembley, was seen going into the book in the 71st minute after a rash challenge on Cole Palmer. Moments after White scored England’s opener, Ugarte appeared to be shown his second yellow of the night for dissent.
However, no red card was brandished and Ugarte walked off unpunished. He was then hurriedly substituted off in the 87th minute, with Brian RodrÃguez coming on in his place.
So, why wasn’t he sent off?
On the ITV broadcast, presenter Mark Pougatch later confirmed that Ugarte’s ‘first’ yellow had been rescinded and had actually been shown to José MarÃa Giménez for dissent to the referee.
Ugarte wasn’t penalised for his foul on Palmer. His yellow card after White’s goal was the only one he received.
An official explanation is still awaited.
Manuel Ugarte appeared to receive two yellow cards against England. GettyWhat was the reaction to the incident?
“They are making it up as they go along, like we didn’t see what we saw. The challenge on Palmer was Ugarte and then it looked like he got done for dissent as well,” Ian Wright said on ITV.
– Thomas Tuchel ‘disappointed’ in England fans’ booing Ben White
– England boss Thomas Tuchel calls James Garner ‘our mini Valverde’ after Uruguay debut
“We’ve been told Ugarte was shown two yellow cards and the second one was rescinded, which is new one on us. Now we’ve been told the first of those yellow cards for Ugarte was actually for [Jose Maria] Gimenez. So rather than two yellow cards, Ugarte got no yellow cards,” England defender Harry Maguire said.
Maguire, understandably, seems to have been confused by the whole situation as Ugarte’s yellow card in the 81st minute did stand.
Was there any more refereeing controversy on the night?
Phil Foden limped off the pitch after a rough, studs-up challenge by Ronald Araújo. The centre-back, however, went unpunished with VAR not checking the tackle.
There was also debate around Uruguay’s late penalty, where VAR intervened to penalise White for his foul on Federico Viñas.
“I didn’t think it was a good performance at all,” Tuchel said of the referee.
“There were debates a player got two yellows in a match but not sent off. A bad day at the office [for the ref].”
“It’s a very soft penalty. Of course there is contact but it’s so obvious what the striker is trying to do.
“To overturn the decision when the ref made it clear he saw it.
“I was surprised the VAR was in place — I thought it wasn’t working. The tackle on Foden not even checked. The tackle on Noni not checked. Then suddenly this one is checked.”