England secured a 2-1 win over Norway courtesy of two goals from midfielder Jude Bellingham, sending the Three Lions through to the World Cup semi-finals. Norway, however, are protesting both a disallowed goal by defender Torbjørn Heggem and the validity of England’s opening goal.

The controversy centres on a moment when the ball, still in the air at the start of the move, was thought to have struck the cable of the spidercam, the camera suspended above the pitch, altering its trajectory before England scored. Norway coach Ståle Solbakken also raised the issue after the match.

“He said he had not seen it himself, and that he had received no confirmation it had actually happened,” Solbakken said. “Since FIFA says there was no contact, he cannot do anything about it. But the ball fell right in front of the bench, so it fell. Everyone saw what happened. I think it’s quite clear it fell. It was a strange incident,” he added.

FIFA, however, issued a statement on the matter, saying the ball’s sensors detected no contact.

In a post on X, FIFA Media said that before England’s goal in the 45+2nd minute against Norway, the sensor fitted inside the Connected Ball recorded no spike in the ball’s “heartbeat” while it was in the air, meaning there was no evidence it had struck the overhead cable or that this had affected its trajectory.