Something was magnificently lost in translation during the award of this World Cup red card and people can’t stop watching
Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in the first game of the World Cup, but it wasn’t so much the scoreline people were talking about as the fact it included three red cards.
red cards in the first game of the 2026 World Cup.
There were only four in each of the entire 2018 and 2022 tournaments pic.twitter.com/2juUuQy7No
— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 11, 2026
And this one in particular went viral, wildly viral, after Brazilian referee Wilton Pereira Sampaio explained the VAR decision to award the red card not just to the South African players but the entire stadium.
And it’s fair to say something might have been lost in translation.
Here you go pic.twitter.com/nzi8Zs2oaK https://t.co/hicOv6oPE8
— King Phelz (@KingPhelz) June 11, 2026
And here are just a few of the many, many things people were saying about it.
1.
New World Cup meme just dropped pic.twitter.com/VrnKxAz0a4
— ⚡️ (@Priceless_MCI) June 11, 2026
2.
Don’t forgot the zoom in of confusion when the referee announced the second red card pic.twitter.com/sI9hx7iDCX
— Sleeper Football (@SleeperFooty) June 11, 2026
3.
Bro is like what the hell he's talking pic.twitter.com/AtyKqJ3kgq
— Mahicasm (@ItsMahicasm) June 12, 2026
4.
This World Cup moment was absolutely hilarious
Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio went to the VAR, confirmed the aggression, and then had to announce the decision over the stadium loudspeakers ️
The problem? He was clearly struggling to explain it in English
His… https://t.co/DFftIZSGn7 pic.twitter.com/49BaUqxTVZ
— Kara (@UTDKarra) June 12, 2026
5.
this is what I hear when someone asks me for money pic.twitter.com/1VGfczFeFn
— MR EDITION (@MREDITIONSA1) June 11, 2026
6.
— Out Of Context Football (@nocontextfooty) June 11, 2026
7.
This shit took me out bro https://t.co/4Pn1B4sEcZ
— AyeZee (@AyeZee) June 11, 2026
8.
Me at the groove wondering if i switched off the Iron or not 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/didb0PwVnM
— Thato01 (@Thato_Reekae) June 11, 2026
9.
Red card.
Best meme ever. pic.twitter.com/Nb1m9nDq3R
— Paladin (@PaladinRood) June 11, 2026
10.
2022 World Cup: 4 red cards
Opening game of 2026 World Cup: 3 red cards pic.twitter.com/uekfPds1go
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) June 11, 2026
To conclude …
I love this GIF. His reaction is priceless pic.twitter.com/8gTRfcJ7iN
— WelBeast (@WelBeast) June 12, 2026
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