Global controversy after Switzerland’s goal against Qatar…and FIFA comments

A technical malfunction caused confusion among television viewers during the match between Switzerland and Qatar in the FIFA World Cup, currently being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The system was unable to display a graph showing the offside situation before a penalty kick was awarded to Switzerland, through which the European team scored the lead goal in the first half of the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw in the first round of the second group of the group stage of the competition.

Viewers and experts doubted the possibility of an offside case against the Swiss national team, before the Qatar national team goalkeeper, Mahmoud Abu Nada, committed a foul against Remo Freuler, inside the penalty area.

Brielle Embolo successfully executed the penalty kick, scoring the lead goal for Switzerland, before Qatar scored the equalizer in stoppage time of the second half.

Retired English star Gary Neville told ITV television that FIFA was exercising a “dictatorship” by not displaying the lines and proving the effectiveness of the semi-automated offside system, while his compatriot Ian Wright described the situation as “disgraceful.”

Former Norway World Cup striker Jan Aage Fjortoft went further, saying, “My point is that they check the cross is offside, then they check if it’s a penalty kick or a yellow card. They forgot to check the second offside.”

For his part, former referee Thorsten Kenover told German broadcaster ZDF: “I was expecting an offside call. I think the camera showed the wrong angle or the semi-automated offside line technology had malfunctioned.”

On the other hand, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) revealed in a statement that there was no offside, stressing that the Video Assistant Technology (VAR) monitored the correct lines.

FIFA added that the technical malfunction that prevented the lines from appearing to viewers did not affect the referee’s decision.

It is noteworthy that the Qatar national team obtained the first point in its history in the World Cup against Switzerland, after having previously lost the three matches it played in the last edition of the tournament, which it hosted in its stadiums in 2022.