During the World Cup quarter-final match held in Miami, a ball kicked by Erling Haaland stopped in mid-air, dropped straight down, and reached an English player.
Circumstances of the incident
After two passes, Jude Bellingham scored the goal, leveling the score for England in the second minute of extra time in the first half. Norwegian players, including star striker Erling Haaland and coach Stale Solbakken, immediately surrounded French referee Clément Turpin and exchanged remarks with him before the break.
Video footage broadcast by FOX Sports shows a sharp change in the ball's trajectory in flight before it fell onto the grass. Journalist Melissa Reddy shared this clip on the social network X.
Expert and rule positions
According to IFAB Laws of the Game, if the ball in play strikes an overhead object, the referee must stop the game and restart it with a drop ball. Former FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg, who served as a rules analyst for FOX Sports, noted that this incident was part of a phase subject to review before the goal and should have been noticed by the VAR system overseen by Jerome Brisard.
Official FIFA reaction
More than an hour after the match concluded, the FIFA media team published a statement on X. It stated that 'the sensor in the Connected Ball did not show a peak in the ball's 'heartbeat' during its flight before England's goal in the 45+2 minute against Norway, therefore there is no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed its movement.'
The ball used in the tournament, an Adidas Trionda, is equipped with a microchip capable of recording the slightest touch. A similar sensor previously recorded contact between the ball and the hair of forward Igor Matanovich when he was offside, during the Croatia versus Portugal match in Round 32. However, it is evident that the cable presents a different problem.
Norwegian coach's comments
Stale Solbakken commented on the situation after the game, stating that he did not see it himself and received no notification that it had happened. He added that since FIFA claims there was no contact and the chip signal is absent, he cannot do anything, but emphasized: 'But the ball fell straight down. ... It touched it.'
Solbakken also noted: 'Let's not turn this into a match story.' Nevertheless, the incident became the central theme of the game.
Match progression and results
Prior to this, Norway had already taken the lead thanks to a goal by Andreas Schjelderup in the 36th minute. Furthermore, the Norwegians' second goal was disallowed after a VAR check which determined that Haaland had pushed Elliot Anderson of England before the corner kick. Bellingham scored his second goal in extra time, securing England's 2-1 victory and advancement to the semi-finals.
The Norwegians left home with two disallowed goals, one camera cable, and a microchip that somehow missed what everyone else saw.