Qatar's Mahmoud Abunada fouls Switzerland's Remo Freuler to concede a penalty. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

FIFA has said that a ‘brief technical outage’ occurred during a crucial Video Assistant Referee (VAR) process in a Group B World Cup match between Switzerland and Qatar in the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara on Saturday.

In the 14th minute, Switzerland was awarded a penalty after Remo Freuler was brought down in the box by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada.

While there were two VAR checks for offsides in the lead-up to the call, the onfield decision was upheld, without any television clarification of the process. Breel Embolo converted the penalty to give Switzerland the lead before a late own goal by Miro Muheim handed Qatar a point.

Three hours after the match, FIFA confirmed that there was a technical outage during the VAR process, but it did not affect the outcome.

“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,” FIFA said in a statement.

“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.

Published on Jun 14, 2026