Thomas Muller launched a scathing attack on the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) after Germany's dramatic Round of 32 exit at the FIFA World Cup 2026, calling the decision to disallow Jonathan Tah's extra-time goal "daylight robbery" and saying the team felt "used and cheated."
Controversial VAR Decision Denies Germany Extra-Time Winner
Germany believed they had secured a place in the Round of 16 when Jonathan Tah headed home from a corner in the 101st minute of extra time. However, referee Jalal Jayed of Morocco was instructed to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor after a VAR intervention, according to The Athletic. The goal was overturned after a review determined that Germany defender Waldemar Anton had impeded Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill during the build-up.
Speaking to German broadcaster Magenta TV after the match, Muller questioned the decision to overturn what he believed was a legitimate goal. "I honestly don't know what VAR is looking at anymore. What a call is that? The goalkeeper must be the luckiest player on the pitch because, from everything I've seen, Germany have scored a perfectly legitimate goal," Muller said.
'Daylight Robbery' on the Biggest Stage
Muller expressed frustration that the intervention cost Germany a place in the Round of 16. "We, the Germans, feel used and cheated. This is wrong. This is daylight robbery on the biggest stage in football. If that's a foul, then football has completely lost its consistency because we've seen far stronger challenges allowed all tournament. The referee and VAR have searched for something that simply isn't there," he added.
The former Bayern Munich star also sympathized with his teammates, saying the decision erased a defining World Cup moment. "You work your whole life to play at a 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 metres away decides to erase that moment over a decision that millions of people will disagree with. That's heartbreaking for every player on that pitch," Muller told the German broadcaster.
Penalty Shootout Heartbreak for Germany
Paraguay stunned the four-time champions in the subsequent penalty shootout to book their place in the Round of 16. The defeat marked Germany's earliest exit from the tournament, while Paraguay progressed after a memorable night defined by VAR controversy, defensive resilience, and clinical finishing from the spot. According to OptaJoe, it was only Germany's second defeat on penalties at a major international tournament, the first coming against Czechoslovakia in the 1976 UEFA European Championship final (5-3).
Muller added that while defeats are part of football, he could not accept losing because of what he described as an incomprehensible interpretation of the rules. "I can accept losing to the better team. I can accept missing chances. But I cannot accept having a perfectly good goal taken away because of an interpretation that nobody understands. Germany deserve better than this, and football deserves better than this. Right now, it feels like we've been punished by technology instead of protected by it," Muller said.
Historic Upset in World Cup Knockout Stage
The result ranks among the biggest knockout upsets in modern World Cup history. Germany entered the tournament ranked 10th in the FIFA World Rankings, while Paraguay were 41st—a gap of 31 places. Since 1994, only three World Cup knockout eliminations have featured a larger rankings disparity: Spain's defeat to Russia in 2018 (60 places), Italy's loss to South Korea in 2002 (34 places), and Spain's quarter-final exit to South Korea in 2002 (32 places).
