Norway boss insists Spidercam struck Bellingham's equaliser despite FIFA sensor data

Norway manager Stale Solbakken has refused to fully accept FIFA’s explanation that Jude Bellingham’s equaliser in England’s World Cup quarter-final was untainted by contact with the Spidercam wire, despite the governing body citing sensor data to dismiss the controversy.

Bellingham’s goal, scored in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, drew England level and helped them past Norway, but the strike was immediately disputed by the Norwegian bench, who believed the ball had clipped the overhead camera cable before dropping into the net.

Solbakken, speaking at his post-match press conference, was measured in defeat but stood by his team’s reaction. “Many on the bench reacted immediately — I was not one of them,” he said. “I can’t say anything about that because FIFA, if there is no sound in the chip, what can I say against that. The ball drops straight down from heaven. I think it’s pretty clear that it did and yeah, it was a strange thing.”

The Norwegian head coach had raised the matter with referee Clement Turpin at half-time, but the officials allowed the goal to stand. FIFA subsequently issued a statement explaining that the Connected Ball technology — a sensor embedded in the match ball — recorded no spike in the ball’s “heartbeat” at the relevant moment, indicating no contact with the wire had altered its trajectory.

England manager Thomas Tuchel backed the technology, referencing a previous high-profile incident. “There’s a chip in the ball which can tell you if a hair touches it, as we know since the Croatia vs Portugal game,” Tuchel said. “They should be able to tell you if it happened. I think we just got lucky in decisive moments.”

Norway’s frustrations extended beyond the Spidercam debate. Goalscorer Andreas Schjelderup argued that a disallowed Norwegian goal — ruled out after Erling Haaland was penalised for a shove on Elliot Anderson — should have stood. “I don’t think the 2-1 goal should have been disallowed,” Schjelderup said. “If it’s a free kick, then you can give a lot of free kicks during a football match. It’s a very soft foul, and I actually feel a bit robbed.”

Schjelderup, who netted his first World Cup goal in the match, was candid about the nature of the strike. “It was a mix of a shot and a cross,” he admitted. “I choose to believe that it was my late grandmother who guided that ball into the goal.”