FIFA confirmed a brief technical interruption prevented the offside line graphic from displaying during Switzerland's 14th-minute penalty in their 1-1 World Cup draw with Qatar.
9:31 PM
Qatar and Switzerland drew 1-1 in a World Cup Group B match Saturday in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Qatar securing its first-ever World Cup point. The result, however, was overshadowed by controversy surrounding a penalty awarded to Switzerland in the 14th minute.
Honduran referee Héctor Martínez awarded the penalty after Qatar goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada brought down Switzerland midfielder Remo Freuler in the penalty area. Breel Embolo converted the spot kick to give Switzerland the lead. The VAR reviewed the play due to potential offside positions in the buildup, but the three-dimensional offside line animation that typically displays during such reviews was not shown to viewers.
The missing graphic prompted widespread questions on social media about whether Embolo or Freuler were in offside positions before the penalty was awarded. Television broadcasts showed no VAR room imagery of the offside lines, which is standard procedure when a play is reviewed.
FIFA issued a statement Saturday acknowledging the issue. The governing body confirmed that "a brief technical interruption prevented the generation of the offside animation graphic before the penalty awarded to Switzerland in the 14th minute." FIFA stated the problem was resolved quickly and that "the VAR workflow was not affected" by the interruption.
In a separate communication, FIFA published photographs showing the offside line tracings at the moment Embolo was positioned during the play, indicating the penalty decision was correct. The federation maintained that the VAR review process functioned properly despite the technical failure to display the animation graphic to broadcasters.
Qatar equalized late in the match when Switzerland defender Silvan Muheim scored an own goal, securing the 1-1 draw. Switzerland was managed by Murat Yakin, while Qatar's coach was Lopetegui.
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