Germany’s controversial exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup has sparked a wave of criticism from some of the country’s biggest names in football, with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp leading the backlash by questioning VAR’s decision to rule out Jonathan Tah’s extra-time winner against Paraguay — and drawing Premier League champions Arsenal into the fray.Germany were knocked out by Paraguay in a dramatic round of 16 clash, losing 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. However, the decisive moment came in the 101st minute when Tah’s header was disallowed after a VAR review due to an alleged foul by Waldemar Anton on Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill.
Why Klopp brought Arsenal into the debate
Speaking to German broadcaster MagentaTV after the defeat, Klopp questioned the consistency of the decision and pointed to Arsenal’s efficiency from set pieces as an example.“If the goal is illegal, then Arsenal will not be champions of England. They have scored 60 percent of their goals that way,” Klopp said.The former Liverpool boss suggested that if the level of contact involving Anton was deemed sufficient to overturn Tah’s goal, similar incidents that routinely occur during set-pieces — including many of Arsenal’s goals — would also be ruled out.Klopp’s comments added fuel to the growing debate over VAR’s interpretation of physical challenges inside the penalty area.
Klose: ‘VAR is looking for reasons to cancel goals’
Germany legend Miroslav Klose was equally critical, insisting that Tah’s goal should have stood.“Honestly, I can’t believe that the referee and VAR ruled it out. If that’s enough to cancel the goal on FIFA World Cupthen football becomes too soft. The goalkeeper was never really prevented from making a save and for me it’s a perfectly legitimate goal,” Klose told Sky Sports.The former World Cup’s all-time leading scorer claimed that VAR has deviated from its original purpose.“This is exactly why so many fans are frustrated with VAR. Instead of correcting clear and obvious mistakes, it continues to look for small incidents to disallow goals. Millions of fans have come to watch football, not endless replays looking for reasons to disallow goals.”Klose also felt that the decision completely changed the momentum of the game.“The judge completely destroyed Germany’s momentum with that decision. These are the moments that change world championships and in my opinion they made a big mistake.”
Schweinsteiger supports Taha after the broken penalty
Former Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger focused on the psychological effect the disallowed goal could have had on Taha, who later missed from the penalty spot.“Honestly, I don’t think Jonathan Tah thought about that disallowed goal. Imagine you believe you scored a goal that sent your country through, you celebrate with your teammates, and then VAR takes it away from you. Such moments stay with you,” Schweinsteiger told ARD.He added that football is a mental game as much as a technical one.“When he went up to take the penalty, I don’t think he was completely mentally free. Football is as much psychological as it is technical. I honestly believe that the first goal that was ruled out affected him.”And Schweinsteiger defended the defender against criticism.“I won’t point the finger at Jonathan Tah because penalties are taken by brave players, not cowards. But I can’t stop thinking that if that first goal stood, Germany wouldn’t even be in the penalty shootout.”
