Manuel Ugarte shown two yellows but no red? 'Ref made it up as he went along' says Ian Wright
Reaction from Wembley as German referee Sven Jablonski comes in for criticism for his performance, including seemingly failing to send off Manuel Ugarte despite picking up two yellow cards
Friday 27 March 2026 23:24, UK
Manuel Ugarte was booked twice but wasn't sent off in England's 1-1 draw with Uruguay with Ian Wright claiming the referee "made it up as he went along" on a controversial night of decision making from the officials.
The Uruguayan was yellow carded for a foul on Cole Palmer on 71 minutes before being booked again 10 minutes later for dissent after Ben White's opening goal.
A red card should have be shown but the German referee Sven Jablonski kept the card in his pocket.
England defender Harry Maguire said of the incident: "We've been told Ugarte was shown two yellow cards and the second one was rescinded, which is new one on us.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."
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Speaking on ITV, former England striker Wright said: "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."
Ben White was booed by England fans after scoring and then gave away a penalty in the 1-1 draw.
Thomas Tuchel was left frustrated with the referees performance after VAR failed to intervene for a reckless challenge on Phil Foden by Ronald Araújo before VAR then stepped in to award Uruguay a penalty in stoppage time for a foul by White.
"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."
Tuchel happy with team performance
Tuchel speaking about how England's fringe players fared in the 1-1 draw:
"I liked the positivity, the attitude, the performance.
"Everyone was always ready to adapt to the questions asked by us. It was a very tactical game.
"In the moment we were very good we didn't get the goal to get a bit more freedom in our game. The boost was missing but we kept trying.
"I learned a lot. It was a tough opponent. You learn a lot against the details.
"You play against Ugarte and Valverde and you see the level.
"We needed this kind of test. I'm happy we did it the way we did it."
What next for England?
England host Japan in another friendly at Wembley on Tuesday; kick-off 7.45pm.
That will be the final chance for Thomas Tuchel to look at his players on the international stage before he announces his World Cup squad at the end of the season.
England then have World Cup warm-up matches with New Zealand and Costa Rica before their tournament opener against Croatia on June 17.
