In such a massive game, with a spot at the World Cup on the line, the one thing you are really hoping for is for the game to be settled without outside influence.
Unfortunately for Michael O'Neill and Northern Ireland, all that will be talked about following Thursday night's World Cup playoff first leg is a refereeing decision.
It must be said that Switzerland looked comfortably the better team for the best part of an hour, but Northern Ireland were keeping them at bay and defending doggedly as they always do, when a shocking penalty decision went against them.
Corry Evans was adjudged to have handled a shot from Xherdan Shaqiri, and it is one of the harshest calls we've seen for some time.
You definitely couldn't say the referee is a homer, instead, 'wanker' was the word ringing around Windsor Park after Ricardo Rodriquez of AC Milan converted from the spot.
It's never a penalty, his arm is not out, and it's his shoulder that appears to make contact with the ball. It's a block, and a good one.
An away goal is an absolute killer in a fixture as tight as this, and it would have thrown Northern Ireland's gameplan out the window. A bitter pill to swallow for the green and white army.
