Thomas Muller has harsh words for VAR after Germany crashed out of last 32 fifa world cup In 2026, a controversial decision to overturn Jonathan Tah’s extra-time goal was decisive in the team’s dramatic win over Paraguay.Speaking to German broadcaster Magenta TV after the game, Muller questioned the intervention in the 101st minute of extra time that led to Germany mistakenly thinking that the winning goal had been wiped out.“Honestly, I don’t know what VAR was looking at. What was the penalty? From everything I saw, Germany scored a perfectly legal goal. Jonathan Tah attacked brilliantly, won the game fairly and finished it with authority.” This is football. That should not be taken away,” Mueller said.Germany were already celebrating when Tah headed in from a corner, but referee Jalal Jayed was instructed to review the incident following a VAR check. The goal was reportedly disallowed after defender Valdemar Anton fouled Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gil in the build-up to the game.However, Mueller was not convinced by the decision and said Germany was being treated unfairly at a critical moment.“We Germans feel exploited and cheated. This is wrong. This is broad daylight robbery on football’s biggest stage,” he said. “If it’s a foul then football has completely lost its stability because we’ve seen all games allow for stronger challenges. The referees and VAR are already looking for something that’s just not there.”
‘Erased moment’: Muller laments World Cup defeat
For Müller, the frustration was not limited to the result, his focus was on the emotional impact on the players who believed they had won the game.“You work your whole life to get to the World Cup, you fight for every ball, you finally score what could be the winning goal, and then someone sitting in a room hundreds of meters away decides to erase that moment,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking for every player on the pitch.”After overtime, the German team eventually lost the game with a score of 1-1. Paraguay seized the opportunity, while the German team missed three penalty kicks in a tense penalty shootout.Muller added that while he was okay with losing in sports, it was difficult for him to accept the manner in which he lost.“I can accept losing to a better team. I can accept missing chances. But I can’t accept being deprived of a perfect goal because of an explanation that no one understands. Germany deserves better than this and football deserves better than this,” he said.
Paraguay beats Germany in surprise match
The defeat marked Germany’s earliest exit from the World Cup in modern history, with Paraguay advancing to the last 16 after suffering one of the tournament’s biggest shocks.The South American side, ranked 41st in the world against Germany’s 10th, survived extra time and held their nerve in the penalty shootout after Tah’s goal was disallowed.The result adds to a growing list of VAR-related controversies at major tournaments and is likely to intensify debate over the technology’s role in decisive knockout moments.
