FIFA denies ball hit wire in England's first goal

FIFA denies ball hit wire in England’s first goal vs. NorwayESPN News ServicesMultiple AuthorsJul 11, 2026, 07:20 PM ET

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By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the wire, play would have stopped and a drop ball would have been utilized to determine possession.

“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,” a FIFA statement reported.

But in this case, play was not interrupted and it was not known if the video assistant referee, Jerome Brisard, reviewed the play. Brisard was also in the VAR role for the Argentina-Egypt match in the quarterfinals, when Argentina rallied to win 3-2 and Egypt complained that the officiating was unfair.

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. pic.twitter.com/gYf9ukfveT

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 11, 2026

Earlier in the tournament, a sensor in the ball was used to rule out a potential equalizing goal for Croatia in their loss to Portugal after the sensor detected the ball had touched a Croatia player and rendered the goal offside.

Norway goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland took the kick to start the play in question Saturday, which was controlled by England seconds after the trajectory of the ball changed, suggesting it brushed one of the cables used to suspend a robotically controlled camera. The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Nyland with a low shot to the far post.

Nyland slapped the turf in frustration and he, Norway star striker Erling Haaland and coach Ståle Solbakken had words for referee Clement Turpin of France after the play and going into halftime.

The Argentina-Egypt game saw an Egypt goal taken off the scoreboard in the 58th minute after a VAR review determined that Marwan Attia had fouled Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.