Germany vs Paraguay VAR controversy after Shearer backlash

Alan Shearer made the sharpest noise in the aftermath of Germany's exit from Germany vs Paraguay. On BBC commentary, he called the VAR decision that wiped out Jonathan Tah's extra-time header "pathetic" and said he did not agree with the foul on Waldemar Anton or the goalkeeper decision. Germany then went out on penalties after Paraguay won the shootout 4-3.

Shearer and Cann on the call

The incident came in the 102nd minute. Referee Jalal Jayed checked the monitor and ruled that Anton had fouled Orlando Gill, which meant Tah's header never counted. Shearer was blunt about it. "Well it was Anton that gives him a little nudge," he said, adding: "VAR thinks so. Not for me. I don't agree with that decision at all."

He was even sharper again later. "The keeper knows he's had a slight touch and falls to the ground far too easy," Shearer said. "Yes there's contact but this is a contact sport." He also described the call as "pathetic" and said he was "really surprised" by it.

Darren Cann backed the same basic view from a refereeing angle. "This is soft in my opinion," he said. "There's a small block on the keeper. For me it's not enough."

The wider picture around the match

The disallowed header ended up mattering because the game finished 1-1 after 120 minutes, with Julio Enciso scoring for Paraguay and Kai Havertz equalising for Germany. Havertz finished with a 7.5 rating, while Tah played the full 120 minutes and posted a 7.3 rating despite having the header ruled out.

Tah also completed 117 passes in 120 minutes, which fits the sense that Germany had enough of the ball to keep pushing for a winner. Gill made 6 saves for Paraguay, so the margins were already tight before the VAR check.

Jurgen Klopp added a separate barb in his MagentaTV comments, saying Arsenal had scored "60 percent" of their goals in a similar manner. That was his opinion, not a verified match fact, but it gave the story another layer of irritation around a decision that already had Shearer and Cann openly questioning it.

Germany's exit was set by the shootout, but the argument will centre on that 102nd-minute review for a while yet.