Paraguay's Miracle Player! 3 Fouls + 2 Punches Knock Down French Stars, Yet No Cards—Once Stole a Referee's Watch and Escaped Punishment

In the second round of 16 match of the World Cup, which ended on July 5th Beijing time, Paraguay was defeated 0-1 by France, thus failing to advance to the top eight and concluding their World Cup campaign. In this contest, Paraguay's No. 23, Galarza, delivered a "remarkable" display—not for his excellent gameplay, but for his repeated flagrant fouls that astonishingly went unpunished with any cards.[Watch the World Cup on Migu Video]

In the 39th minute, during a French counterattack, Mbappé made an off-the-ball run, and Galarza followed up with a harsh defensive move, using a "karate chop" action to bring down Mbappé, who writhed in pain while clutching his neck. However, the Uzbek referee on the day took no action, and VAR did not intervene either.

It didn't end there. In the 2nd minute of stoppage time, while defending at high speed, Galarza once again threw a punch, knocking down another French star, Koundé. The referee still made no indication.

Galarza's actions also provoked the usually mild-mannered French player Olise, leading to a physical altercation. Trying to free himself from Olise's jersey grab, Galarza inadvertently punched himself. According to post-match statistics, Galarza committed three fouls in the entire match, the highest number, yet received no cards.

And this wasn't the first time Galarza stirred up controversy in this World Cup. During an earlier group stage match where Paraguay beat Turkey 1-0, Galarza picked up the referee's watch, wore it for several minutes, and only then returned it to the official.

Despite already having a yellow card, he faced no warning from the referee. If Galarza had been sent off at that point, the game's flow might have been completely different, and Turkey's elimination fate could have been altered.

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