FIFA have responded after Norway complained the ball hit the spidercam wire in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to England on Sunday.
The Three Lions beat Norway 2-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the World Cup, where they’ll meet Argentina. Norway went 1-0 up and at 1-1, felt they’d scored again, before Erling Haaland was called for a foul for pushing Elliot Anderson to the ground.
In extra time, England scored their winner through Jude Bellingham, the man who had also scored the first goal.
His strike was not without controversy, as the ball appeared to pass very close to the wires of spidercam in the stadium, and some of Norway’s players complained that the goal shouldn’t have counted.
As per FIFA rules, if a wire is touched by the ball, the referee is to order a drop ball at the point where it made contact.
However, a statement released by the club suggests it did not do that.
In the statement, FIFA said: ‘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.’
Indeed, there is technology in place to detect a touch on the ball, and none was found.
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Norway complain about officiating
After the final whistle, some of Norway’s players were not happy with the officiating, both due to the moment with spidercam, and the foul given against Haaland after they had the ball in the back of the net.
Sander Berge said: “It’s ridiculous, this one with the wire. [The result] 2-1 says itself – there are small margins and we know which way it went.
“It’s an advantage to be as big and physically strong as Erling, but you get punished if you hold a player.”
Captain Martin Odegaard said: “I didn’t see it myself [the wire incident], but margins were not in our favour today with some of the decisions. Maybe you need that in games like this.”
Haaland himself said of the decision against him: “I mean, if that’s a foul, I should get a foul in almost every single duel in every match. I get pushed, I get pulled the whole way, I think it’s weak.”
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