Gary Neville was on the warpath last night, blasting FIFA as a "dictatorship" in the wake of their baffling decision not to release VAR replays that confirmed Switzerland's penalty against Qatar. The former England star's frustration reached boiling point during the World Cup Group B clash at the Lusail Stadium when the governing body refused to show the crucial semi-automated offside lines, sparking a heated debate among pundits.
The controversy erupted in the first half when Remo Freuler was fouled by Qatari goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada, and although initial TV replays suggested Breel Embolo's header might have put Freuler out of play, the VAR review gave the on-field decision the green light. However, the specific visual evidence from the semi-automated offside system that revealed Freuler was actually onside remained hidden from view, fuelling fans' suspicions about FIFA's commitment to transparency.
"Offside? We all think it here!" Neville exclaimed at half-time. "Everybody will be questioning this decision at home. Why aren't they showing us the evidence of the semi-automatic offside decision that they're holding?" he demanded, echoing his own concerns from previous tournaments. With ITV's rules expert Christina Unkel confirming that FIFA had indeed possessed the replay footage but chose not to broadcast it, Neville ramped up his criticism, declaring: "It's like a dictatorship – honestly! They hold this evidence internally and don't show fans... It's absolute madness!"
FIFA's feeble explanation that a "brief technical outage" prevented the onside animation graphic from being generated did little to placate Neville and other pundits, who continued to question why the semi-automatic lines were not shown. Even FIFA's clarification that the VAR workflow itself was unaffected failed to quell the growing discontent.
Despite the furore surrounding the penalty decision, Embolo made no mistake from the spot, and Switzerland went on to dominate proceedings – but ultimately fell short of claiming all three points. Qatari captain Boualem Khoukhi snatched a dramatic equaliser in injury time from Homam El Amin's cross, sparking wild celebrations among Julen Lopetegui's squad.