FIFA: "No evidence" of ball hitting camera wire in England's goal against Norway

Miami – AFP – FIFA said on Sunday that there is “no evidence” to support claims that England’s equalizer in their 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup in North America should have been disallowed, after it appeared the ball struck a camera cable during the buildup.

Norwegian players protested to French referee Clement Turpin after Jude Bellingham’s goal in stoppage time, which restored parity at 1-1 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, following a first-half goal that had been disallowed.

Broadcast footage of the goal kick taken by Norwegian goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland, which initiated the move leading to Bellingham’s goal, showed the ball’s trajectory seemingly changing suddenly before it fell to England midfielder Elliott Anderson.

Under the laws of the game, such an incident should have led to play being stopped and restarted with a dropped ball. However, FIFA clarified that a sensor embedded in the ball – the same technology used to disallow a goal in Croatia’s earlier knockout-stage loss to Portugal – showed no indication that the ball had hit the cable.

The statement read: “Before England’s goal in the 45+2nd minute against Norway, the sensor in the connected ball showed no peak in ball pulse while it was in the air, and therefore there is no evidence that the ball touched the overhead cable and changed its trajectory.”