FIFA has issued an explanation after the controversial VAR incident that overshadowed Switzerland’s dramatic 1-1 draw against Qatar at the 2026 World Cup, insisting that a temporary technical glitch only affected the on-screen graphics and not the review process itself.The governing body came under scrutiny after Switzerland were awarded an early penalty despite television replays appearing to suggest that Remo Freuler may have been offside in the build-up. The absence of the usual semi-automated offside animation left fans and pundits baffled and sparked accusations of a lack of transparency.
FIFA explains missing VAR visuals
The incident occurred in the 14th minute at Levi’s Stadium when Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada collided with Freuler inside the box. Breel Embolo converted the resulting penalty to hand the Swiss the lead.Questions quickly emerged as broadcasters failed to show the semi-automated offside graphic that normally accompanies such reviews.In a statement, FIFA confirmed that the technology responsible for generating the animation had briefly malfunctioned during the check.“During the Qatar vs Switzerland match in the San Francisco Bay Area, a brief technical outage prevented the onside animation graphic from being generated ahead of the penalty awarded to Switzerland in the 14th minute. The issue was quickly resolved,” FIFA said.“The workflow of the VAR was not affected by this issue and followed the normal procedure in checking the on-field decision. The lines used by the VAR to check the position of the relevant players did not show the attacking player to be in an offside position in either of the two situations immediately before the penalty decision,” it further added.
Neville launches scathing attack
The lack of visual evidence angered former England defender Gary Neville, who questioned why FIFA chose not to provide supporters with immediate clarity.“Offside. We all think it here. Everybody at home thinks it. FIFA are the host broadcaster and they have the semi-automatic decision that they can show us. Why are they not showing us?” Neville said on ITV.He went even further, comparing FIFA’s handling of the situation to a dictatorship.“It’s like a dictator. Honestly, it’s like a dictatorship, this. The idea that they hold this evidence internally and don’t show fans of countries that are playing in tournaments. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Show it straight away. Why not the transparency?” he added.
Qatar snatch historic World Cup point
While the VAR controversy dominated the headlines, Qatar celebrated a landmark achievement after Boualem Khoukhi headed home in the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure a stunning 1-1 draw and earn the Gulf nation its first-ever World Cup point.Switzerland, who had dominated possession and squandered several chances after Embolo’s penalty, paid a heavy price for their wastefulness.“Clearly, we didn’t play the kind of match we needed to,” Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria admitted. “We had so many chances and we missed so many in front of goal. Today we paid dearly.”