The bunker has claimed its first victim. This new rule, tested during the preparation matches and confirmed during this 2023 World Cup, allows the referee to give a yellow card to a player and wait for a decision from the video referee for a possible definitive exclusion. During this time, the game can resume, avoiding endless downtime. The TMO Bunker then has eight minutes to study the images and make its judgment.
During the opening match between France and New Zealand this Friday, Jaco Peyper had already called on this system in the 59th following a penalty whistled against Will Jordan. But the yellow card had not been converted to red.
This time, it’s done. Guilty of a head-to-head blow with Juan Cruz Mallia in the fourth minute of the match between England and Argentina, Tom Curry was first temporarily excluded by the referee of the match, Frenchman Mathieu Raynal. After analysis of the images by the video assistant, the yellow card was transformed into red, despite the involuntary nature of its action. The English will therefore finish this match at 14 against 15.
