FIFA have blamed a “technical outage” for the controversy that resulted from the award of a penalty to Switzerland during the 1-1 draw against Qatar on Saturday.
The award of a penalty — which was converted by Breel Embolo — for a foul on Remo Freuler came after both players were adjudged to be marginally onside in the buildup to the foul.
But TV coverage did not show the usual 3D graphic which confirms the decision of a potential offside call and, with replays inconclusive, the incident has drawn criticism from fans and pundits.
A statement posted to FIFA’s social media read: “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.”
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The statement, which was posted more than four hours after the incident took place, included photos as evidence that both Freuler and Embolo were onside in the buildup to the penalty, with lines apparently drawn by the VAR. The 3D graphic has not been released.
“The workflow of the VAR was not affected by this issue and followed the normal procedure in checking the on-field decision,” the statement continued.
“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.”
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Gary Neville, working as a pundit for ITV, likened FIFA to a dictatorship in the wake of the incident.
“We all think it sitting here, and everyone will at home, the goal is offside,” he said. “FIFA are the host, they’ve got the evidence of the automated decision — why are they not showing us?
“They did this at the last tournament. Fans are already distrusting. There is a massive question mark of that [decision] because that is offside until they prove me different.
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“It’s like a dictatorship in the idea that they hold this evidence and don’t show it for fans. It’s ridiculous. Prove to us it’s offside. Where’s the transparency?”
Ian Wright, also speaking on ITV, added: “They do what they want. We’re seeing it now. It’s scandalous.”
Qatar’s 94th-minute equaliser meant the game ended as a 1-1 draw.
