“This feels like a dictatorship.” Neville slams FIFA over controversial offside incident in Switzerland vs Qatar match
Jan Novak
Dailysports's expert
A controversial incident in the 2026 World Cup match between Switzerland and Qatar has sparked a furious reaction in the football community. The scandal erupted in the first half when Switzerland were awarded a penalty after Remo Freuler collided with Qatar goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada. However, even before the penalty was given, many noticed a possible offside by the Swiss player.
Despite a VAR review, the officials upheld their decision. What’s more, viewers were never shown the graphic images from the semi-automated offside technology that are typically used to clarify such incidents.
One of the harshest critics of the referees’ decision was former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, who lashed out at FIFA for a lack of transparency in VAR operations.
FIFA has all the data from the automated offside system. Why aren’t they showing it? At the last tournament, they did. Fans are already skeptical about these technologies. For me, it’s offside until they prove otherwise. When you have information but refuse to share it with the public, this feels like a dictatorship, the expert said.
