FIFA Referees Committee chairman Pierluigi Collina hinted that the referee made the right decision when he ruled out Jonathan Tah's goal in extra time of the World Cup round of 32 match between Germany and Paraguay.
The goal would have given Germany a 2-1 lead in Monday's match, but it was ruled out for minimal contact between Waldemar Anton and Paraguay keeper Orlando Gill.
Gill went down during the corner but was on the way back up again as the powerful header flew in. Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed was only alerted to the possible issue by the video assistant and made his decision after studying the monitor.
Following the 1-1 draw after extra time, Paraguay went on to win 4-3 on penalties as Germany were eliminated.
In an article published on FIFA.com, Collina reflected on the refereeing at the World Cup so far.
He didn't name Anton but used a picture of the moment he made contact with Gill to explain a new recommendation to referees to "pay attention to some specific situations which may occur in relation to the tactics of certain teams."
"An example is when attacking players try to prevent defending players from moving. 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," he wrote.
"This is especially the case when the tactic aims to prevent the opposing goalkeeper from being able to defend the goal."
The decision was widely criticized by Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.
"It is a scandal that the goal can be ruled out. I have no idea what he saw. It is a joke. It is a total scandal, there is no way it is a foul," he said.
Former referee Thorsten Kinhöfer, who's working as an expert for broadcaster ZDF, also said it was a mistake for the VAR to intervene in Tah's goal.
"And the second mistake is that, to put it bluntly, the referee didn't have the guts to override that decision and say: No, that's not a foul, to me, that's a crystal-clear goal," he said.
