Brazil goalkeeper Alisson was shown red twice against Ecuador on Thursday only to have VAR take back the cards both times in a controversial 1-1 draw.
In the first half of the World Cup qualifier, a red card for a high boot was reduced to yellow, while a second-half card for a punch that was also initially ruled a penalty was called off and the foul overturned.
Meanwhile, Brazil's Emerson Royal and Ecuador's Alexander Dominguez were sent off as both teams played the majority of the match down a man.
Below is a view of the first-half incident, available in the UK.
The Liverpool goalkeeper made high contact with the attacker with his boot right after his clearance, but upon VAR review, the act was deemed not dangerous enough to warrant a red card.
VAR saves Alisson from being this game's third red card! ❌It's downgraded to a yellow card by the referee, the Liverpool keeper stays on, and it's still 10 v 10 🟨What a half so far! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dpDkK3eZKg— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) January 27, 2022
In the second half, meanwhile, his punch only contacted the attacker after he touched the ball.
Ecuador will be upset to have seen Alisson finish the match on the pitch - and for their stoppage-time penalty to have been taken away - but a spirited draw against CONMEBOL's top team in qualifying was still an encouraging result.
With the point, Ecuador maintained their comfortable position in third in the CONMEBOL table as they inch closer to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil, meanwhile, have already qualified for the World Cup, along with Argentina.
Luzklmpt
11
You guys just don’t watch the game for what it is both times Allison made contact with the ball first ,those attackers ran straight in the the keeper both times so y would you send a player off unfairly,?…Ecuador keeper on the other hand never made any contact with the ball ,he jumped straight into the strikers neck which is evident in the gauze he was wearing after , so don’t just sit n be bias because you may not like Brazil but atleast be men enough to review the highlights and see what I’m saying is facts,in my opinion VAR was on point for those calls so kudos to them
Andy_Mac
10
If it was Ederson in goal, they'd have surely brandished him a red card. But since it's Alisson Becker - the bloke with good facial hair and no tattoos around his neck, he gets away with it 🙄