Switzerland controversially took the lead against Qatar with a penalty from Bril Embolo, but many pundits and fans were left baffled by VAR’s failure to award an offside ruling in the build-up.
Gary Neville was never happy with FIFA’s decision not to share replays (Image: ITV Sport)
Gary Neville has accused FIFA of being a “dictatorship” after it failed to share the VAR replay of Switzerland’s controversial penalty decision. Bril Embolo gave the European team the lead against Qatar on Saturday night in San Francisco.
Remo Freuler was brought down by Qatari goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada, giving Switzerland a spot kick. Replays appeared to show Freuler was offside. However, as a result of the VAR review, the original decision remained.
Inexplicably, a replay of the call was not shown on television, and many still believed Freuler was offside. And ITV pundit Neville criticized FIFA for choosing not to clarify the controversy.
At half-time he said: “It’s offside. We all think here. Everyone at home thinks so. FIFA is the host broadcaster and they have a semi-automatic decision that they can show us.”
“Why aren’t they showing us? They did the same thing in the last tournament. The fans are already distrustful of FIFA and technology to begin with. There are big questions about that. Because until they prove me different, I’m offside in my eyes.”
The former Manchester United defender added: “It’s like a dictatorship. To be honest, this is like a dictatorship. The idea that we keep this evidence internally and don’t show it to the fans of the countries participating in the tournament is just ridiculous.”
“Honestly, don’t show me the evidence of offside. I want you to prove it’s offside. Show me it right away. Why aren’t you being transparent?”
Colleague Ian Wright also criticized the team for not sharing the replay, saying: “If it’s a semi-automatic line, why didn’t we see it? We don’t really need to see it. We watch it every week in the Premier League and he looks offside, which I don’t understand. They’re doing what they want. They’re sitting in their offices. This is a scandal.”
Briel Embolo scores from a controversial penalty (Image: Getty Images)
Wright and Neville were not the only ones who believed Freuler was offside. Commentator Lee Dixon said: “There’s no question it was a penalty. My arm went up and it was offside. As for the run, that’s all he is offside for. It doesn’t count. He just walked away. The referee can’t see it so he points to the spot.”
After the decision was made, he added: “There must be something wrong with my monitor,” before saying he was convinced it was offside.
The decision not to share replays became the latest officiating controversy at the 2026 World Cup. Three players were sent off in the opening game of the tournament, between South Africa and Mexico, two of which were controversial at best.
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