FIFA issue statement after VAR controversy mars World Cup clash of former hosts

There was uproar at the World Cup when a VAR review during Switzerland's Group B draw with Qatar was not properly broadcast.

Fans and pundits were confused by the decision in question. Swiss midfielder Remo Freuler was clobbered by Qatari goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada early in the first half and the awarding of a penalty was confirmed after the VAR team checked that the Bologna man wasn't offside.

Subsequent television replays suggested that offside would be given and the penalty scrubbed off, but the on-field decision stood and Breel Embolo coolly swept the spot kick past Abunada.

Despite the effort that went into body-scanning all 1,248 World Cup players for the updated version of semi-automated offside technology in use at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer, no graphic was generated or inserted into the broadcast.

In the absence of visual clarification, conspiratorial comment abounds.

Fans on social media reacted with suspicion and asked indignantly why they hadn't been shown the evidence that Freuler was onside.

FIFA moved to clear the matter up, issuing a statement while the world watched next game between Brazil and Morocco.

"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," FIFA posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"The issue was quickly resolved.

"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."

Alongside the statement, they published two action shots showing that the lines were correctly drawn and that Freuler was indeed onside.

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.

The workflow of the VAR was… pic.twitter.com/ONpWxXDPE6

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) June 13, 2026

Switzerland punished for profligate attacking display

Switzerland were the favourites against Qatar and Murat Yakin's men got their noses in front early through Embolo's penalty, but a lack of intent and cutting edge proved costly as they dropped points in what was expected to be their most winnable group stage match.

They paid the price to the tune of two points when Julen Lopetegui's Qatar equalised in the fourth minute of stoppage time, securing their first-ever World Cup point with a goal that was initially credited as a Boualem Khoukhi header but was later ruled an own goal.

Qatar will face co-hosts Canada in their next match after Switzerland's second group fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina.