Arsenal Caught in Crossfire of Jurgen Klopp’s Fury Over Germany’s World Cup Exit

Germany’s disallowed goal against Paraguay reignited a debate that dominated English soccer this season.

Jürgen Klopp (right) aimed a dig at Arsenal. | Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto/Martin Rickett/PA Images/Getty Images

Jürgen Klopp was furious with the decision to disallow Jonathan Tah’s goal in the late stages of Germany’s World Cup defeat to Paraguay, letting his Liverpool roots show as he took aim at Arsenal in the process.

Tah thought he had headed Germany into the lead in extra-time of its round of 32 defeat on Monday, only for VAR to intervene and rule the goal out after teammate Waldemar Anton was deemed to have obstructed Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill, who undeniably went down with very little encouragement.

“If the goal is illegal, then Arsenal won’t be English champions,” Klopp fumed during an appearance on Magenta TV. “They scored 60% of their goals this way.”

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The ‘Anti-Arsenal’ Rule That Cost Germany

Waldemar Anton was seen blocking Paraguay’s Orlando Gill. | Jan Woitas/picture alliance/Getty Images

Fans of English soccer will be no strangers to the debate surrounding excess physicality in the penalty area.

Arsenal were one of many teams that flirted with the dark arts in the 2025–26 Premier League campaign, blocking off defenders to boost their chances of scoring from set-pieces. They were far from the only culprits but proved to be the poster boys of the issue en route to winning the title with a record 19 goals from corners.

England’s own use of such tactics attracted direct comment from FIFA’s refereeing chief, Pierluigi Collina, who highlighted a goal from Three Lions defender Ben White—coincidentally an Arsenal player—during a March friendly as he unveiled a new set of rules that would be introduced in the World Cup.

The new rules state any player found guilty of intentionally blocking an opponent without any genuine intent to play the ball would be penalized. This was quickly dubbed an ‘Anti-Arsenal’ rule by fans online.

Replays of the Tah goal showed Anton clearly stand in the way of the Paraguayan goalkeeper, and while the contact was minimal and had a debatable impact on Gill’s movement, it was decided that his decision to block the goalkeeper was intentional and, therefore, against the new regulations.

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Will the New Rules Apply in the Premier League?

Such a scene was common in the Premier League last season. | Alex Pantling/Getty Images

FIFA’s new regulations for this summer’s World Cup do not automatically carry over to the Premier League, although English soccer’s governing body has already made a step to try and counter the issue of blocking.

Before the World Cup began, the Premier League confirmed a renewed effort to punish unfair obstruction would be made in the 2026–27 season, with those blocking opponents without any attempt to play the ball set to be punished.

Just how strict these rules will be remains to be seen. Officials made a point of stressing that “not every contact is a foul” in an attempt to avoid losing the physicality upon which the Premier League prides itself, but there will be greater focus on the intent of those found to be pushing the rules to their limits.

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