FIFA Under Fire After Familiar Controversy Erupts Just Three Days Into The World Cup Amidst Rising Scrutiny
FIFA has attributed the lack of evidence for a VAR decision that awarded Switzerland a penalty in their 1-1 draw with Qatar to a "brief technical outage". The penalty was given 14 minutes into the game after Remo Freuler was brought down by Qatar's goalkeeper, despite replays suggesting Freuler was in an offside position.
The VAR check did not overturn the decision, and Breel Embolo scored the penalty. However, no replays or evidence were shown, causing widespread confusion. FIFA later defended the decision on social media, stating that the technical outage prevented the onside animation graphic from being generated.
According to FIFA, the VAR workflow was not affected, and the lines used to check the players' positions did not show Freuler to be in an offside position. However, still images from the game, including those with offside lines drawn, suggested otherwise.
FIFA uses semi-automatic offside technology, with audio alerts sent to assistant referees if a player is more than 10cm offside. Since Freuler was below this threshold, a manual VAR check was required. The delay in showing evidence of the decision has been criticized, with former player Gary Neville calling for greater transparency. Neville argued that fans should be shown evidence of such decisions immediately, rather than hours later.
The VAR check did not overturn the decision, and Breel Embolo scored the penalty. However, no replays or evidence were shown, causing widespread confusion. FIFA later defended the decision on social media, stating that the technical outage prevented the onside animation graphic from being generated.
According to FIFA, the VAR workflow was not affected, and the lines used to check the players' positions did not show Freuler to be in an offside position. However, still images from the game, including those with offside lines drawn, suggested otherwise.
FIFA uses semi-automatic offside technology, with audio alerts sent to assistant referees if a player is more than 10cm offside. Since Freuler was below this threshold, a manual VAR check was required. The delay in showing evidence of the decision has been criticized, with former player Gary Neville calling for greater transparency. Neville argued that fans should be shown evidence of such decisions immediately, rather than hours later.
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