Deutschland vs Paraguay

In the first half at 0-0, following a Germany corner, the Paraguay goalkeeper held Germany's Pavlovic inside the penalty area. No penalty was given and VAR did not intervene. This is a wrong decision. Under Law 12, holding an opponent to impede his movement is a direct-free-kick offence — a penalty inside the box — and the goalkeeper is bound by that rule exactly like any other player. What separates this from ordinary, often-ignored corner grappling is decisive: the keeper was marking Pavlovic man-to-man, the ball was not playable, and (per the German broadcast) he brought the attacker to ground. With no ball to challenge for, there is no "contesting the ball" excuse — the keeper is simply holding and pulling down an opponent. That is a clear holding penalty. And because a clear penalty wrongly not awarded is a reviewable serious missed incident, VAR should have intervened, as the German commentary itself argued. The honest caveat: the strength of this rests on the hold being sustained and the bring-down real — both should be confirmed on a full replay, which is why the confidence is medium-high rather than maximal. WRONG DECISION: a holding penalty denied and a VAR that stayed silent on a clear missed incident.