In a controversial moment during the World Cup quarter-final, Norway’s head coach, Ståle Solbakken, expressed his dissatisfaction after England’s Jude Bellingham scored the equaliser. He argued that the ball had struck an overhead cable prior to the goal.
Replays appeared to indicate that a goal-kick from Norway had indeed hit the cable during the buildup. However, FIFA issued a statement asserting that a sensor embedded within the ball found no indication of contact with the cable.
Following the incident, Solbakken confronted French referee Clément Turpin at halftime. He argued that if the cable had been struck, the match should have resumed with a drop ball.
“He said that he didn’t see it himself and that he didn’t get any message that it actually happened,” Solbakken stated. “Since Fifa says that there was no touch, he can’t do anything about it. But the ball fell down straight in front of the bench, so it did. Everyone saw what happened. I think it’s pretty clear that it did. it was a strange thing. “I can sit here and cry but I don’t want to do that. We have done everything we could – the players have been phenomenal throughout the tournament. OK it was bizarre but it’s part of football and why it is the best sport in the world because things like that can happen. We have to accept it. “It was unlucky for us. The ball fell straight down from the sky, so it takes this direction. It became a misunderstanding among our players, and it was a bad moment for us. We can’t do anything about that. I don’t think we will play the game again, so that’s how it is.”
Despite his frustration, Solbakken maintained a composed demeanor, reflecting on his team’s performance throughout the tournament. “Before England’s goal… 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.” he said. “I heard that, but there’s a chip in the ball and it can tell you if a hair can touch it, as you know from the Croatia-Portugal game.”
He continued, acknowledging the unfortunate timing of the incident.
“It was unlucky for us. The ball fell straight down from the sky, so it takes this direction. It became a misunderstanding among our players, and it was a bad moment for us. We can’t do anything about that. I don’t think we will play the game again, so that’s how it is.”
The cables in question are utilized to support a robotically controlled camera. In their statement, FIFA clarified, “Before England’s goal… 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.”
On the other side, England’s head coach, Thomas Tuchel, acknowledged awareness of the claims regarding the cable. “I heard that, but there’s a chip in the ball and it can tell you if a hair can touch it, as you know from the Croatia-Portugal game,” he mentioned.
This reference pointed to a previous match where a late equaliser from Croatia was disallowed due to the ball having brushed the hair of a teammate before reaching the goal-scorer, who was otherwise onside.
