An English TV crew were reportedly left staggered after being told by FIFA not to publish clarifying images of Japan’s winner over Spain at the World Cup, leaving millions of viewers in the dark. The global football governing body instead published the images themselves a day after the final whistle, which confirmed Germany’s exit from Qatar.
Defeat to Japan in their opening Group E match left Germany boss Hansi Flick fighting an uphill battle, which was only made more difficult after a draw with Spain. Die Mannschaft needed results to fall their way in the group finale but a Japanese triumph over Spain saw Germany fail to reach the knockout stages for a second consecutive World Cup.
Japan’s win wasn’t without controversy, either, as Ao Tanaka’s winner was called into question due to the ball appearing to go out of play beforehand. An image went viral on social media which showed green grass between the bottom of the ball and the touchline, suggesting that a goal-kick should have been given.
However, a birds-eye view of the ball showed that it just about stayed in play and Germany’s exit from the tournament was justified. Still, those watching on were left blind until the day afterwards, when FIFA finally published the clarifying images.
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Unlike Flick, manager Luis Enrique won’t survive to see another tournament as he left the job in the wake of a disappointing World Cup exit. Spain had played fluid football in Qatar but Morocco have proven mightily tough to beat, and Enrique’s plea for players to practice 1,000 penalties each in the lead-up to the tournament bizarrely preceded them missing every single one in the shootout.
Former Spain Under-21 coach Luis de la Fuente has already been appointed to replace him, with big things expected of bright young stars Pedri and Gavi over the coming tournaments. The other team involved in the FIFA image controversy, Japan, were also knocked out in the Round of 16 via a penalty-shootout defeat to Croatia.
ITV pundit Graeme Souness was among those confused by FIFA’s handling of the situation, ranting after Germany were sent packing: “There are 80 million Germans right now going mad, waiting for a picture that shows that ball didn’t go out of play.
“Germany is not a small footballing nation. Why would you create confusion and not want to clear it up immediately? Why are FIFA not showing us something that is so controversial? Why aren’t they showing it to us? Clear it up for us, please.”
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