‘We feel used and cheated’: Thomas Muller slams VAR after Germany’s World Cup heartbreak

Germany's Jonathan Tah (4) heads a goal that was disqualified after a VAR check. (AP Photo) Thomas Muller delivered a scathing assessment of VAR after Germany suffered a shock Round of 32 exit at the FIFA World Cup 2026, with a controversial decision overturning Jonathan Tah’s extra-time goal proving decisive in a dramatic defeat to Paraguay.Speaking to German broadcaster Magenta TV after the match, Muller questioned the intervention that wiped out what Germany believed was a winning goal in the 101st minute of extra time.

Watch FIFA WC: Major Shooting Attack Near California World Cup Fan Zone In Downtown San Jose, 1 Killed “I honestly don't know what VAR is looking at anymore.

What a call is that?

From everything I've seen, Germany have scored a perfectly legitimate goal.

Jonathan Tah attacked the ball brilliantly, won it fairly and finished with authority.

That's football.

That should never have been taken away,” Muller said.Germany had already begun celebrating when Tah headed home from a corner, only for referee Jalal Jayed to be instructed to review the incident after a VAR check.

According to reports, the goal was ruled out due to 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 Germany had been unfairly treated at a crucial moment.

“We, the Germans, feel used and cheated.

This is wrong.

This is daylight robbery on the biggest stage in football,” he said.

“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.”‘A moment erased’: Muller laments lost World Cup drama For Muller, the frustration went beyond the result, focusing on what he described as the emotional impact on players who believed they had won the match.“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,” he said.

“That's heartbreaking for every player on that pitch.”Germany ultimately lost the contest on penalties after the match finished 1-1 following extra time, with Paraguay converting their chances while Germany missed three spot-kicks 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 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,” he said.

Paraguay stun Germany as tournament upset unfolds The defeat marks Germany’s earliest World Cup exit in the modern era, as Paraguay progress to the Round of 16 after one of the tournament’s biggest shocks.The South American side, ranked 41st in the world compared to Germany’s 10th, 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 at major tournaments and will likely intensify debate over the technology’s role in decisive knockout moments.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates.