Tim Ream makes history with 'mistaken identity' rule at World Cup

Tim Ream made history on Friday in more ways than one. The second the opening whistle blew in the United States’ match against Paraguay, the 38-year-old became the oldest player in the history of the US men’s national team to appear at a World Cup. Fifty-three minutes later, Ream made an entirely different type of history: he became the first player at a World Cup to benefit from the International Football Association Board’s “mistaken identity” rule change.

The revision to the laws of the game, made earlier this year, gives referees latitude to use video assisted review to overturn red and yellow cards issued to the incorrect players. The most common application, seemingly, would be a red or yellow card issued during a mass confrontation, where a referee’s view would be obscured. Dutch referee Danny Makkelie’s interpretation on Friday night was different, but correct.

Early in the second half of the Americans’ 4-1 win, Ream was booked after Paraguay midfielderMiguel Almirón went down under a challenge. Ream immediately protested, but was issued a yellow card, much to his chagrin.

Minutes later, Makkelie was ordered to the monitor by video assistant referee Carlos del Cerro Grande to review the play. Makkelie eventually overturned the yellow on Ream, instead booking Almirón for simulation, justifying the “mistaken identity” definition.

It was a deserved break for Ream, who could have spent the rest of the group stage seeking to avoid a second yellow card and one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation. At the World Cup, yellow cards reset after the group stage and again after the quarter-finals.

US midfielder Tyler Adams was not as lucky and will enter the USMNT’s match against Australia on 19 June carrying a yellow card, which he earned in the 59th minute of Friday’s match.