Norwegian media have launched explosive accusations of a refereeing “scandal” following England’s dramatic 2-1 World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami. Pundits claim two hugely controversial decisions cost Norway a place in the semi-finals.
Controversial Equaliser
Thomas Tuchel’s side came from behind to win after extra time, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice. However, the fallout in Norway has centred on two incidents involving England’s equaliser and a disallowed second-half goal.
Norway had gone ahead through Andreas Schjelderup before Bellingham levelled in first-half stoppage time. Norwegian players and staff immediately claimed the ball had struck the overhead camera cable after goalkeeper Orjan Nyland’s goal kick during the build-up. Under the laws of the game, play should be stopped and restarted with a dropped ball if it touches overhead equipment. FIFA later said data from the connected match ball showed no evidence of contact with the cable.
NRK expert Kristoffer Løkberg said: “If that ball hit the camera or the cable, this is a scandal. It should have been a dropped ball, not 1-1. I have no words. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before. If this proves decisive, it will go down as one of the biggest World Cup scandals of all time.”
Fellow pundit Carl-Erik Torp added: “If it turns out the ball hit the cable, then from a Norwegian point of view this would be one of the biggest refereeing scandals of all time.”
Disallowed Goal
The fury intensified after Torbjorn Heggem appeared to make it 2-1 to Norway in the second half, only for the goal to be ruled out following a VAR intervention. Erling Haaland was adjudged to have pushed Elliot Anderson inside the penalty area before the ball reached Heggem, although Norwegian commentators insisted the contact was nowhere near enough to justify disallowing the goal.
Løkberg said: “It is a scandal that Norway have been denied that 2-1 goal. It is unbelievably poor refereeing. Elliot Anderson threw himself backwards without any provocation. It’s closer to simulation than a foul by Haaland.”
Football expert Lars Tjærnås described the incident as a “total farce” on social media. TV2 pundit Simen Stamsø-Møller questioned the decision, arguing: “Yes, there is a push, but that happens everywhere inside the penalty area. There’s a push here, there’s a push there, everywhere. It’s because he throws himself. No, stop being ridiculous. There was a push and you see that at every single corner. It’s only given because the outcome is a goal.”
Manager Reaction
Norway manager Stale Solbakken stopped short of blaming the defeat entirely on the officials but remained convinced the ball had struck something before Bellingham’s first goal. “It’s not the main story here, and I’m not blaming that, but the whole bench reacted immediately when the ball dropped in front of them,” he said. “Orjan reacted immediately. I don’t think there’s any doubt it hit something, but unfortunately we’ll have to live with that for the rest of our lives.”
TV2 analyst Jesper Mathisen insisted the laws were clear: “The goal should have been disallowed because the referee should have stopped play and restarted with a dropped ball after Nyland’s kick.”
Bellingham Decides
Despite the uproar, Bellingham struck again three minutes into extra time to settle the quarter-final and end Norway’s remarkable campaign. Løkberg ultimately praised his country’s performance but admitted the sense of injustice would be difficult to shake. “What drama, and what a heroic Norwegian team, who were the better side for large parts of the game,” he said. “In the game of fine margins, unfortunately, the margins went against us. But there is a Norwegian team down there that can be proud in defeat.”
