Sunday afternoon’s FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between England and Norway was a hard-fought battle that took extra time to decide a victor. However, the match was marred by controversy after what appeared to be a clear referee mistake.
On England’s equalizing goal late in the first half, the ball appeared to hit a camera or wire at the top of the stadium, causing it to change direction and impact the play on the field, which should have resulted in the play being ruled dead. However, officials missed the incident, and it led to an England goal, sparking outrage on social media.
FIFA Offers Explanation
Shortly after the conclusion of the match, FIFA issued a statement on the controversial goal, claiming that there was “no evidence” that the ball hit the overhead wire since the Connected Ball technology did not show it.
“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,” FIFA wrote in a post on X.
However, FIFA’s statement goes directly against video evidence that clearly shows the ball changing directions and trajectory.
Here’s another angle: https://t.co/5wAx6tc3w1 pic.twitter.com/zAEl7NkTjd — George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 (@gtconway3d) July 12, 2026
Prominent soccer commentator Leonardo Bertozzi theorized that the Connected Ball technology would not work at that height since the antennas are at the height of the turf and might not pick up contact that high in the stadium.
Fans Express Outrage
Needless to say, fans quickly took to social media to express their outrage at what appeared to be a clear referee mistake.
“How does VAR not tell the ref the ball hit the sky cam before the goal??? goal should have been disallowed. What a joke,” prominent football analyst Warren Sharp wrote in a post on X.
“Contact on a corner that happens nearly every corner kick gets overturned by VAR. A cable literally hits the ball and it’s play on, no review. The inconsistency in how VAR is applied makes it impossible to take this sport seriously at times,” wrote Haralabos Voulgaris, owner of Spanish football club CD Castellón, in a post on X.
“FIFA tracks offside using cutting edge technology but if a ball hit the sky cam leading to a goal they just shrug their shoulders,” someone else added.
“This is so bad, entire play is enabled by the ball dropping out of nowhere to Gordon. No wonder players were out of position,” another fan wrote.
“Didn’t see this in real time. But this should have been disallowed by the letter of the law. Norway is very very unlucky here,” someone else added.
“Norway robbed multiple times in this match. VAR is absolutely useless,” another fan wrote.
Needless to say, fans were not happy and are clearly not buying the explanation from FIFA.
Source: The Comeback
