FIFA confirmed Sunday that a technical glitch occurred during the Qatar-Switzerland match, held in San Francisco as part of the opening round of Group B in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
FIFA clarified, in a statement published on its FIFA Media platform, that the technical glitch did not affect the operation of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system during the awarding of the penalty to Switzerland, noting that the standard review procedures were followed fully and meticulously.
The statement added that the VAR review did not reveal any offside on the part of the attacking player in the play immediately preceding the penalty, thus confirming the correctness of the referee's decision.
Swiss striker Pierre Mbolo had given his team the lead after successfully converting the penalty in the 17th minute. However, Qatar equalized in stoppage time with a header from Boualem Khoukhi that deflected off Swiss defender Miro Mohheim, securing a valuable point for Qatar in the 94th minute.