Up to this point at the 2026 World Cup, most of the controversies have come off the pitch. Indeed, plenty of headlines have been made about Gianni Infantino and the way he runs FIFA.
Under his watch, the United States have made it extremely difficult for fans, staff members, journalists, officials and even players to come into the co-hosting nation. Most infamously, Somali referee Omar Artan was sent home from Miami, despite having a visa to do his job this summer.
Thankfully, the action in the group stages of the World Cup so far has largely gone smoothly (albeit with some notably empty seats in certain matches, likely due to costly ticket prices). However, there was one controversial incident during the 1-1 draw between Qatar and Switzerland in Group B.
Gary Neville Fumes Over ‘Ridiculous’ FIFA Incident
Switzerland took the lead via a penalty in the 17th minute, converted by Breel Embolo, but could not hang onto the points, with Qatar levelling thanks to an own goal from Miro Muheim in the 94th minute. While the Swiss would have felt robbed to concede so late, having dominated the game, there were plenty of question marks regarding their goal.
The penalty was awarded after Remo Freuler was bundled over by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada. The contact was obvious, and the referee quickly pointed ot the spot. However, replays appeared to show the Swiss player standing in an offside position before he pounced onto the ball to win the foul.
Despite this, VAR checked and cleared the penalty, allowing Embolo to put Switzerland in front from 12 yards. The incident sparked a strong reaction, with English pundit Gary Neville leading the dissenting voices.
“We all think it here and everybody will think it at home [that it was offside]. FIFA are the host broadcaster. They’ve got the evidence of the automatic decision which they can show us.
“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.”
Fellow pundits Ian Wright and Duncan Ferguson, who were sat alongside Neville in the ITV studio, also agreed that Freuler looked offside to the naked eye. Adding to that, former England defender Lee Dixon, who was commentating on the game, insisted it would be ruled out:
“There’s no doubt about the penalty but he’s offside. This won’t count.”
It didn’t take long for VAR controversy to arrive at the 2026 World Cup.
FIFA Respond To World Cup Offside Controversy
FIFA President Gianni Infantino via REUTERS/Henry Romero
In response to the controversy, FIFA have now shared a statement online, with images, as they defended the offside decision. It’s interesting to note that they claimed the usual supporting animation graphic was not shown due to a ‘technical outage’, although they add that this did not have an impact on the call:
“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.”
Some fans have questioned just how helpful the supporting images actually are, as they feel as if they simply prove that Freuler was offside, despite FIFA’s claims.
Fabrizio Romano has confirmed some big news out of Tottenham on Sunday afternoon.
It’s an incredibly important period for Spurs, who are likely to see huge changes, both behind the scenes and with the playing squad.
A number of players are expected to leave the club, meaning Tottenham will have to be busy bringing in new additions.
Attracting players will be more difficult than in previous years due to the fact that they failed to qualify for any European football.
The North London outfit have also finished 17th in the Premier League in two successive seasons, with targets potentially fearful that they could be involved in a relegation battle again.
They do appear to be heading back in the right direction under Roberto De Zerbi, but it’s still early days.
Italian journalist Romano has confirmed that Tottenham’s move to tie Pedro Porro down to a new deal is now done, with the right-back signing a contract until 2031.
Tottenham also have the option to extend Porro’s stay at the club until 2032, while he has also received a pay increase.
There were reports of Manchester City and other clubs being interested in Porro, but Tottenham were never willing to allow him to depart, considering him untouchable.
Leeds now have their eye on one player after an impressive start to his World Cup tournament.
The World Cup is a real opportunity for clubs in the Premier League to find reinforcements, with the best players all across the world competing in one tournament.
It’s a chance for players to announce themselves on the biggest stage, and it’s a selling club’s dream, with transfer values often going through the roof.
Leeds and every other Premier League club will have multiple scouts at the tournament, and you so often see players getting big moves after the World Cup.
It could be a busy summer transfer window for the Yorkshire club as they aim to build on an impressive 2025/2026 season under Daniel Farke.
Leeds are in a strong position heading into the summer transfer window after they comfortably avoided relegation from the Premier League. The Yorkshire club don’t need to panic and can remain patient in their efforts to bring in reinforcements, knowing that Farke has a squad capable of competing.
The next step is to build a squad capable of climbing into the top half of the Premier League table. It could be an important summer if they want to do that as soon as possible. As mentioned, there is no need for Leeds to rush and panic, which gives them an upper hand when it comes to recruitment.
Manchester United have pulled out of the race to sign another midfielder after it was confirmed they have cooled their interest in Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson.
Signing another player in the middle of the park is a huge priority for United, but they won’t want to overpay.
Forest are demanding a huge fee for Anderson, and with Man City insisting on securing his signature, United are going to have to cough up a lot of money to sign him.
“Manchester United are not going for Sandro Tonali at this stage. The intention of Manchester United is not to proceed. Manchester United has been interested in Tonali for some time, and he’s been on Manchester United’s shortlist, but now Manchester United believe that the player is too expensive.”
United are also pushing to sign Newcastle defender Lewis Hall, and they believe that trying to sign both from the Magpies will make it an incredibly expensive deal.
The Portuguese star is a cheaper alternative to Anderson, with the Hammers reportedly demanding in the region of £85m.
Anderson has always been a dream target for United, but with the Red Devils not wanting to overpay, Fernandes is a smart alternative.
West Ham were relegated from the Premier League during the 2025-2026 season, meaning Fernandes is looking for a move back to a top league.
United are clearly looking to be smart with their recruitment this summer, pulling away from deals for Tonali and Anderson in order to find value in the market.
