FIFA confirm VAR technology failure during the Qatar against Switzerland match

The incident occurred when Switzerland was awarded a penalty, despite midfielder Remo Freuler appearing to be in an offside position during the build-up. 

Breel Embolo converted the subsequent spot-kick after Freuler was brought down by Qatari goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada, with the game later ending in a draw.

Although the play was reviewed by VAR, the on-field decision stood, with officials determining that Freuler was onside. 

Following the incident, FIFA did not provide a replay of the semi-automated offside lines, later revealing that the system had malfunctioned.

In an official statement, the governing body explained the situation that led to the VAR error during the game.

"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."

The statement continued: "The workflow of the VAR was not affected by this issue and followed the normal procedure in checking the on-field decision. 

“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."

The lack of transparency drew sharp criticism from pundits, including former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, who questioned FIFA's handling of the situation.