FIFA did not, as is customary, use on-screen graphics to refute two potential offside calls against Switzerland prior to the penalty kick that gave them a temporary lead against Qatar. Now the world governing body has issued a statement—and given the all-clear.
Both on Denis Zakaria’s cross to Breel Embolo and on Embolo’s subsequent pass to Remo Freuler, TV viewers watching Switzerland’s World Cup opener quickly speculated about two offside calls after reviewing the still images. The clear foul by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada on Freuler took a back seat in the face of the offside suspicions.
Just as surprising as the absence of the corresponding 3D animation of the scene, however, was the behavior of referee Hector Said Martinez from Honduras, who, after a VAR review, stood by his original penalty decision. Rightly so, as FIFA has since clarified.
Missing TV animation has no impact on VAR review
“During the match between Qatar and Switzerland in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a brief technical glitch that prevented the animation for the offside decision from being displayed prior to the penalty awarded to Switzerland in the 14th minute,” FIFA explained, adding that the issue had been “promptly resolved.”
As great as the world governing body’s commitment may be to providing television viewers with a transparent and comprehensible presentation of relevant scenes, the greatest importance naturally lies in correct decision-making on the field and in the VAR room. In this regard, FIFA also gave the all-clear.
“The VAR workflow was not affected by this issue and followed the standard procedure for reviewing the decision on the field. The lines used by the VAR to check the position of the players in question did not indicate in either of the two situations immediately preceding the penalty decision that the attacking player was in an offside position,” the statement continued.
First World Cup point for Qatar
The absence of the 3D graphics normally provided by the semi-automated offside technology thus had no impact on the game. The Swiss team’s temporary lead was therefore legitimate—though it was not enough for the much-anticipated opening victory.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, the Swiss were denied a narrow 1-0 victory over Qatar by an own goal from substitute Miro Muheim; Qatar recorded its first-ever point in a World Cup finals tournament.