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Gary Neville voiced his frustration with both the referee and VAR officials after Switzerland were awarded a penalty in their match against Qatar, despite what appeared to be an offside in the build-up.

Switzerland went into half-time with a narrow lead over Qatar in their Group B opener at the World Cup 2026, but questions were being asked about whether the scoreline was truly justified.

Although the Swiss side created several scoring opportunities, they led only 1-0 at the break, courtesy of a penalty successfully converted by Breel Embolo.

The incident occurred in the 13th minute when Remo Freuler was brought down by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada inside the box. Despite Freuler appearing to be in an offside position, VAR upheld the referee’s initial decision to award the spot-kick, which Embolo calmly slotted home to give Switzerland the advantage.

Referee Said Martinez immediately pointed to the spot following the collision, and although the VAR team spent considerable time reviewing the situation, they ultimately decided not to overturn the on-field call.

However, replays of the episode did not feature the usual offside lines, leaving viewers without visual confirmation of whether Freuler had been onside or not.

During the live broadcast, commentator Lee Dixon expressed confusion over the decision, stating that to the naked eye, Freuler looked clearly offside. He added that referee expert Christina Unkel had assured him that VAR technology was "incredibly accurate" despite appearances.

At half-time in the ITV studio, Gary Neville made his discontent clear, criticising both the decision and FIFA’s lack of transparency regarding the review process.

He remarked, "Lee mentioned it during commentary, and we all agree here — there’s a huge question mark over that decision. Why isn’t FIFA showing us the evidence when there’s already widespread distrust towards them? It’s like a dictatorship — keeping this data internal and not showing it to fans is absolutely absurd."

Christina Unkel was brought back during the interval to provide further insight, and even she appeared to question FIFA’s approach to transparency.

She observed, "It’s surprising that with all the advanced technology and 3D player mapping now available, FIFA still doesn’t display these tight calls. Showing that data would certainly help build trust and credibility with fans."

Unkel continued, "They usually only display those replays when a referee’s decision is overturned, but since the technology exists, why not use it to enhance the transparency they’ve invested so heavily in?"

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