Gary Neville accuses Fifa of 'dictatorship' following VAR mess between Switzerland and Qatar

Gary Neville has launched a scathing attack on Fifa, branding the governing body a "dictatorship" following their failure to display offside technology graphics during a disputed penalty decision between Switzerland and Qatar.

The former Manchester United defender hit out after Switzerland were awarded a spot-kick, despite broadcast footage appearing to show the attacking player in an offside position.

Neville said: "We all think it here and everybody will think it at home.

"Fifa are the host broadcaster. They've got the evidence of the automatic decision, which they can show us.

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"Why are they not showing us? They did this in the last tournament. Fans are already distrusting of FIFA and technology to start with.

"There is a massive question mark over that because that is offside in my eyes until they prove differently.

"Why aren't Fifa showing us when there's already such distrust for them?

"It's a dictatorship this: the idea that they hold this data internally and not show fans, it's absolutely ridiculous."

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The contentious moment occurred in the 14th minute, when Remo Freuler latched onto a headed pass from teammate Breel Embolo before being upended by Qatar's goalkeeper, Mahmoud Abunada, inside the penalty area.

VAR officials reviewed the incident and allowed the penalty to stand, with Embolo stepping up to convert from the spot and give Switzerland the lead.

However, television replays showed Freuler had strayed beyond the last defender when receiving the ball, raising questions about the decision.

Pundits Ian Wright and Duncan Ferguson echoed Neville's words, both agreeing that Freuler appeared offside to the naked eye.

Commentator Lee Dixon was equally convinced, stating: "There's no doubt about the penalty, but he's offside. This won't count."

Fifa subsequently issued a statement attributing the missing graphics to a "brief technical outage" that prevented the onside animation from being generated during the 14th-minute incident.

The statement read: "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 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."

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