FIFA has finally reacted to the controversial VAR call that disallowed Germany’s extra-time goal against Paraguay. Germany was shockingly eliminated from the FIFA World Cup after losing in a penalty shootout. With the game tied at 1-1, defender Jonathan Tah scored in the 101st minute, sending Germany into wild celebration, but the goal was disallowed after VAR confirmed a foul on goalkeeper Orlando Gill, inviting huge uproar, especially from the German fans.
Germany’s Waldemar Anton pushed Gill to the ground, leading to the foul; however, because the contact was minimal, FIFA found itself at the center of controversy.
FIFA’s referees chief, Pierluigi Collina, justified the decision and said that officials were told to punish attackers who deliberately try to obstruct opponents without an attempt to play the ball.
“Although keeping a position is not a foul per se, when an attacking player is not interested in the ball and deliberately moves, even marginally, with the clear intention of obstructing opponents’ movement and prevents him from defending, then referees, and VAR when needed, should carefully analyse the incident and intervene,” Collina said.
“This is especially the case when the tactic aims to prevent the opposing goalkeeper from being able to defend the goal.
“Coaches and players were informed, so it should come as no surprise that referees will punish these fouls.”
Germans Feel Cheated
Meanwhile, the decision expectedly left German pundits furious. Germany legend Thomas Muller didn’t mince words and accused VAR of robbing Germany of a genuine 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 told Magenta TV.
The former Germany forward accused officials of daylight robbery, saying that far stronger challenges were allowed during the FIFA World Cup.
“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,” he said.
Muller also sympathised with Jonathan Tah, who missed a penalty that saw Germany crash out of the tournament.
“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,” he added.