NORWAY-ENGLAND: FIFA COMES TO TURPIN'S AID, "NO EVIDENCE" THAT THE BALL HIT A CABLE, ACCORDING TO THE BODY

FIFA said on Saturday that there was "no evidence" that the ball hit a television cable when England equalized, ultimately beating Norway 2-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup on Saturday in Miami.

"Before England's goal in the 45th+2 minute against Norway, the connected ball sensor showed no peak in the 'pulsation of the ball' when it was in the air, and therefore there is no evidence that the ball touched the suspended cable and altered its trajectory," FIFA said in a statement after the controversial 2026 World Cup quarter-final between Norway and England.

The Norwegian players protested to French referee Clément Turpin after Jude Bellingham's equalizer at 1-1 at Hard Rock Stadium. They felt that after goalkeeper Orjan Nyland's clearance, which initiated the play, the ball's trajectory had suddenly changed as it struck a cable supporting the mobile camera above the pitch, before falling back onto England midfielder Elliot Anderson.

According to FIFA regulations, this interference should have resulted in a stoppage of play and a throw-in. However, FIFA indicated that the sensor integrated into the ball showed no sign that the ball had touched the cable. This same technology had disallowed a goal during Croatia's defeat against Portugal in the round of 32 of the tournament.

Solbakken: "The ball fell straight down."

When questioned about the matter at a press conference, coach Stale Solbakken stated the opposite: "The referee says he didn't see it himself and that he didn't receive any message saying it had happened. That's a good explanation; FIFA says, 'No contact, no signal,' so there's nothing he can do about it. But the ball fell straight in front of the bench, so it definitely happened. Many on the bench reacted immediately," he asserted.

"I can't say anything about it because if there was no sound or movement in the chip, what can I say against it?" the Norwegian lamented. Thomas Tuchel also reacted: "There's a chip in the ball that can tell you if a hair touches it, as we've known since Croatia-Portugal. It should be able to tell you if that happened. I wasn't aware of it, I didn't see it."

The 2026 World Cup ball, named "Trionda", incorporates a motion sensor (500 Hz) which transmits real-time data to the VAR referees, notably to check offside positions.