Norway harshly criticizes FIFA over a controversial goal awarded to England before England overturned the result to advance in the 2026 World Cup (Video).","tags":["football","2026 World Cup","Norway","England","controversy"]
On 12 July 2026 GMT+7, the Norway national football team strongly protested a controversial moment in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinal match where they narrowly lost 1-2 to England in extra time, ending their run in the tournament.
In this match, Norway initially led 1-0, but at 45+2 minutes, England equalized 1-1 through Jude Bellingham. At this moment, Norway goalkeeper Erling Næss launched a set piece, and the ball struck the Spidercam cable suspended above the field.
The ball then clearly changed direction before landing at the feet of Elliott Anderson, who passed to Anthony Gordon, who then set up Jude Bellingham to score. Ultimately, Bellingham scored again to give England the win in extra time.
If it is determined that the ball indeed touched the cable, Bellingham's equalizing goal would be disallowed, and play would restart with a drop ball, marking a crucial turning point in the game.
The Adidas Trionda ball used in the 2026 World Cup contains a chip for Connected Ball technology, tracking position, direction, and speed, sending real-time data to the VAR team. However, no clear evidence was found in this incident.
FIFA clarified on platform X, stating: "Before England's goal at 45+2 minutes against Norway, sensors in the ball detected no spike in the so-called 'heartbeat of the ball' while it was in the air."
"Therefore, there is no evidence indicating the ball touched the cable suspended above to cause a directional change."
This led Norway coach Ståle Solbakken to express doubts after the match, saying, "The referee said he did not see the incident himself and received no signals that it actually happened."
"That is a reasonable explanation, and since FIFA said there was no contact and no signals from the ball's chip, he could do nothing."
"The ball fell straight in front of the bench, so it definitely made contact. Many people on the bench reacted immediately. I was not one of them, but many saw it clearly."
"I can't say much about it because if there's no signal from the chip, what can I say? Everyone said the ball fell from the sky, including the goalkeeper and even the person about to catch it. I think it's very clear that it was so. It's very strange."
