Norway's staff insist VAR should have reviewed Bellingham's controversial equaliser against England

Norway’s coaching staff and players are continuing to contest Jude Bellingham’s 45th-minute equaliser in England’s friendly at Miami Stadium, with assistant manager Kent Bergersen the latest to argue that VAR should have triggered a pitchside review by referee Clement Turpin.

The controversy centres on a goal kick from goalkeeper Orjan Nyland that Norway believe struck a camera cable suspended above the pitch, causing the ball to drop sharply and fall into the path of Elliot Anderson. Anderson exchanged a pass with Anthony Gordon before finding Bellingham, who cancelled out Andreas Schjelderup’s opener. Nyland immediately protested to Turpin, but no VAR check is reported to have taken place.

FIFA subsequently released a statement defending the decision, saying the sensor inside the match ball recorded no evidence of contact with the wire. “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,” the governing body said.

Bergersen remains unconvinced. “When Orjan kicks the ball, it hits the wire with the camera, so the ball is much shorter than it should have been,” he told Norwegian broadcaster TV 2. “The referee should have looked at that.”

Former Norway midfielder Kjetil Rekdal was equally blunt in his assessment. “It’s absolutely crazy that something like that can happen. The referees can’t have noticed it. Then Norway would have had to storm the field for them to notice it.”

Norway head coach Stale Solbakken acknowledged after the final whistle that the incident had cost his side, suggesting the wire deserved an assist. “The ball fell straight down from the sky, so it changed its direction. It became a misunderstanding among our players and it was in a bad moment for us,” he said, before conceding there was little recourse given FIFA’s findings. “If there’s been no sound or there has been no reading in the chip, what can I say against that? But the ball drops down straight from heaven, says everyone, including Orjan.”

Norway forward Alexander Sorloth also pointed to the ball’s unexpected trajectory as evidence of interference, noting he had positioned himself further upfield in anticipation of a longer kick before it suddenly dropped short.

The incident adds a layer of controversy to what was otherwise a routine international friendly result, and raises questions about stadium infrastructure at venues being used for the 2026 World Cup, which the United States, Canada, and Mexico will co-host.