Cablegate: should Jude Bellingham’s first goal against Norway have been disallowed?

Jude Bellingham’s first goal against Norway appeared to hit a cable. Photograph: FOXView image in fullscreenJude Bellingham’s first goal against Norway appeared to hit a cable. Photograph: FOXCablegate: should Jude Bellingham’s first goal against Norway have been disallowed?

Midfielder got England back on level terms in fine fashion but pictures suggest illegal interference in the buildupNyland goes longView image in fullscreenØrjan Håskjold Nyland’s goal-kick late in the first-half of Norway’s World Cup quarter-final with England is intercepted by Elliot Anderson. Photograph: BBCNorway’s goalkeeper, Ørjan Håskjold Nyland, launches a goal-kick down the pitch two minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half. The ball falls just inside England’s half, near the touchline, where Elliot Anderson is able to gather possession and drive forward.

The ball ‘drops’ to AndersonView image in fullscreenAnderson with the ball at his feet having intercepted Nyland’s goal-kick. Photograph: FOXThe sudden, sharp descent of the ball towards Anderson suggests something may have interfered with its trajectory while in mid-air.Bellingham bursts forward and scoresView image in fullscreenJude Bellingham holds off the challenge of Torbjørn Heggem to score the first of his two goals in Miami.

Photograph: Marta Lavandier/APAnderson plays a through pass to Anthony Gordon who, having collected the ball, plays it inside to Jude Bellingham, who brilliantly carries it into Norway’s penalty area before sweeping a shot past Nyland to get England back on level terms just before the break.Nyland is up in armsView image in fullscreenNyland protests to the referee, Clément Turpin, in the aftermath of Bellingham’s goal. Photograph: BBCAs England celebrate, Norway are up in arms, no one more so than Nyland, who runs towards the referee, Clément Turpin, making clear his belief that the ball hit something, namely an overhead cable used to suspend a robotically controlled camera, before dropping into the path of Anderson.…

so too are Norway’s coachesView image in fullscreenNorway’s coaching staff are clearly not happy with the nature of Bellingham’s goal. Photograph: BBCNorway’s coaching staff also react in frustration at Bellingham’s goal, making clear that they, too, believe the ball hit an overhead cable. “Many on the bench reacted immediately,” said Norway’s manager, Ståle Solbakken.

“I was not one of them, but many saw it. The ball fell down straight in front of the bench, so it did.”Expressing his own frustrations, Norway’s midfielder Sander Berge said: “It’s ridiculous, this one with the wire.

There are small margins and we know which way it went.”Fifa deny foul playView image in fullscreenFifa’s ‘snicko’ reader suggests there was noting untoward with Bellingham’s goal. Photograph: BBCFifa release a statement denying Nyland’s goal-kick had been unfairly, and illegally, intercepted while in mid-air.

“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,” it reads.Speaking about the incident, Thomas Tuchel added: “There is a chip in the ball who can tell you if a hair touches it, so they should be able to tell you if it [a touch] happened [here].”

Viking party is a Viking funeralView image in fullscreenNorway fans gathered in Oslo cannot bare to look during their team’s defeat to England and subsequent World Cup exit. Photograph: Leonhard Föger/ReutersThe goal stands, Bellingham scores again in extra time and Norway’s World Cup party is well and truly over.Explore more on these topicsWorld Cup 2026EnglandNorwayWorld CupfeaturesShareReuse this content