One team’s win is another team’s robbery.
England’s 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the World Cup did not come without controversy as the ball appeared to strike a camera cable prior to Jude Bellingham’s equalizer in the first half.
And Erling Haaland’s father felt Norway was extremely hard done by.
“Really? Saved bye [sic] the referee,” Alfie Haaland wrote on X, as he responded to a post from journalist Henry Winter praising Bellingham’s goal.
“Hope you win the WC now. But feel we got robbed today.”
Before England’s goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the Connected Ball showed no peak in the ‘heartbeat of the ball’ when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball. pic.twitter.com/gYf9ukfveT
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 11, 2026
By FIFA rules, play should have stopped with a drop ball if the ball did in fact hit the cable.
However, FIFA said there was “no evidence” that Ørjan Nyland’s goal kick hit the cable, citing the sensor in the ball.
FIFA said there was “no peak ‘in the heartbeat of the ball’” in the air before it dropped to the feet of Elliot Anderson in the midfield and spurred an England counterattack.
However, there were extensive protests from Norway after the goal and their manager Ståle Solbakken was unconvinced by FIFA’s explanation after the match.
He said it was “pretty clear” that Bellingham’s tying goal shouldn’t have stood, and added the ball “fell straight from heaven” to Anderson.
FIFA’s censor technology was at the center of another contentious call in the Round of 32 as Croatia’s equalizer against Portugal in extra time was ruled out.
Josko Gvardiol looked to have sent the game to penalties for Croatia, but the goal was chalked off after it was determined the ball skimmed the head of Igor Matanovic, making the goal offside due to Gvardiol’s positioning in front of Portgual’s defense.
