Norway have accused England of being “saved by the referee” and claimed they were “robbed” of a place in the World Cup semi-finals after new BBC footage reignited the controversy surrounding Jude Bellingham’s equaliser. The debate has intensified following England’s dramatic 2-1 quarter-final victory in Miami, with fresh 3D replay images appearing to show the ball changing trajectory moments before Bellingham scored in first-half stoppage time.
Incident Details and Official Response
The incident came from a goal-kick in the build-up to the equaliser. Norway’s players immediately protested, insisting the ball had clipped one of the overhead spidercam wires before England launched the attack that ended with Bellingham finding the net. Under the Laws of the Game, if the ball touches an external object such as an overhead cable while in play, the match should be stopped and restarted with a dropped ball – meaning the goal would not have counted.
Fifa quickly rejected those claims after the match. The governing body said it had checked the data from the connected-ball technology and found “no peak on the graph from the connected ball heartbeat sensor”, later adding there was “no evidence” the ball had touched the cable.
BBC Footage Adds Fuel to the Debate
However, the BBC’s 3D tracking replay has now fuelled fresh debate. The footage appears to show a noticeable deviation in the ball’s otherwise smooth flight at the exact point where the spidercam cable was positioned. Fifa insist their data remains more reliable, arguing the BBC replay is based on optical tracking without access to the ball-sensor information or full pitch calibration data. There have also been suggestions the BBC's new 3D technology shows ball flight changes in other matches where there was none.
Alf-Inge Haaland's Comments
The controversy has been compounded by comments from former Leeds United midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland, father of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. Responding on X to a post by journalist Henry Winter after the final whistle, Haaland wrote: “Saved by the referee. Hope you win the WC now. But feel we got robbed today.” In an earlier post, referring to Bellingham’s decisive extra-time winner, he added: “Well done Bellingham and referee.”
Other Controversial Decisions
Norway were also furious after defender Torbjorn Heggem had a goal ruled out when Erling Haaland was adjudged to have pushed Elliot Anderson at a corner. The decision prevented Norway from taking a 2-1 lead. Alf-Inge Haaland had earlier been shown on television gesturing towards the crowd after claiming Djed Spence had dived to win a penalty, a decision that was later overturned following a VAR review.
Reactions from Norway Players
Norway captain Martin Odegaard admitted afterwards that “margins were not in our favour”, while Fulham midfielder Sander Berge described the cable incident as “ridiculous” as the Scandinavian side questioned the officiating. Despite the storm of protest, England completed their comeback through Bellingham’s second goal in extra time to secure a 2-1 victory that set up a World Cup semi-final showdown with Argentina.
