England’s dramatic 2–1 extra-time victory over Norway in the FIFA World Cup quarter-final has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding an overhead spider camera, disputed refereeing decisions and several overturned goals.
Jude Bellingham scored twice as England recovered from a goal down to defeat Norway in Miami and advance to the semi-finals. However, Norwegian players and officials were unhappy with several decisions that they believed influenced the outcome.
Norway took the lead when Andreas Schjelderup’s attempted cross flew over England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and into the top corner. England protested that captain Harry Kane had been fouled during the build-up, but play was allowed to continue.
The biggest controversy came shortly before half-time, when Bellingham scored England’s equaliser. Norwegian goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland’s goal kick appeared to change direction after possibly striking one of the wires supporting the spider camera above the field.
The deflected ball fell favourably to England midfielder Elliot Anderson, who moved forward before Anthony Gordon delivered a cutback to Bellingham. The Real Madrid star controlled the pass and fired it into the Norwegian net.
Nyland immediately protested, while Norway coach Ståle Solbakken confronted match officials as the teams left the field for half-time.
FIFA later said the sensor inside the match ball had recorded no evidence of contact with the overhead wire. Under football’s laws, play would have been stopped and restarted with a dropped ball had outside interference been confirmed.
Norway believed it had regained the lead when Torbjørn Heggem scored from close range. However, the referee reviewed the incident on the pitch-side monitor and ruled that Erling Haaland had pushed Anderson during the build-up.
The goal was disallowed, although former England striker Wayne Rooney described the decision as soft and said he did not believe the contact justified overturning the goal.
England also had a Harry Kane goal ruled out for a narrow offside decision before half-time.
Bellingham later scored his second goal to put England ahead, continuing his influential World Cup campaign and securing his team’s place in the final four.
Another controversial moment followed when England defender Djed Spence went down inside the penalty area after contact from Norway’s Oscar Bobb.
The referee initially awarded a penalty, but reversed the decision after a VAR review, concluding that Spence had initiated the contact. Former England captain Alan Shearer and ex-goalkeeper Paul Robinson criticised the reversal, arguing that the challenge should have resulted in a penalty.
Norway captain Martin Ødegaard said the important decisions had not gone his team’s way, while Schjelderup described some of the referee’s calls as difficult to accept. Alfie Haaland, the father of striker Erling Haaland, also criticised the officiating in a social-media post.
Despite Norway’s frustration, Solbakken avoided directly blaming the officials after the match and wished England well for the remainder of the tournament.
England will now face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final after surviving one of the tournament’s most controversial knockout matches.
