Thomas Muller gave a scathing assessment of VAR after Germany suffered a shock 32nd-round exit at the FIFA World Cup 2026, with a controversial decision that overturned Jonathan Tah’s extra-time goal that proved decisive in a dramatic defeat to Paraguay.Speaking to German broadcaster Magenta TV after the match, Muller questioned the intervention that denied what Germany believed was a winning goal in the 101st minute of extra time.“Honestly, I don’t know what VAR is looking for anymore. What call is that? From everything I saw, Germany scored a perfectly legitimate goal. Jonathan Tah attacked the ball brilliantly, won well and finished with authority. It’s football. That should never have been taken,” said Muller.Germany had already started to celebrate when Tah headed home from a corner, only for referee Jalal Jayed to be ordered to review the incident following a VAR check. According to reports, the goal was ruled out for an alleged foul by defender Waldemar Anton on Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill during the build-up.Muller, however, was unconvinced by the decision and suggested that Germany had been treated unfairly at a crucial time.“We, the Germans, feel used and cheated. This is wrong. This is a daylight robbery on the biggest stage in football,” he said. “If it is a foul, football has completely lost its consistency because we have seen much stronger challenges that allow all tournaments. The referee and the VAR were looking for something that simply is not there.”
‘A lost moment’: Muller laments lost World Cup drama
For Muller, the frustration went beyond the result, focusing on what he described as the emotional impact on the players who believed they had won the match.“You work your whole life to play in a World Cup, fight for every ball, finally score what could be the winning goal, and then someone in a room hundreds of meters away decides to erase that moment,” he said. “That’s heartbreaking for every player on that field.”Germany ultimately lost the contest on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after extra time, Paraguay converted their chances while Germany missed out on three points in a tense shootout.Muller added that while he could accept defeat in sport, he struggled to accept the manner of it.“I can accept losses to the best team. I can accept missing chances. But I cannot accept having a perfectly good goal taken because of an interpretation that no one understands. Germany deserves better than this, and football deserves better than this,” he said.
Paraguay stun Germany as tournament clash unfolds
The defeat marks Germany’s first World Cup exit in the modern era, as Paraguay progress to the Round of 16 after one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.The South American side, ranked 41st in the world compared to 10th ranked Germany, held their nerve in the shootout after surviving extra time following the disallowed Tah goal.The result adds to a growing list of VAR-related controversies in major tournaments and is likely to intensify the debate about the role of technology in the decisive moments of elimination.