A wave of intense anger swept through the England national team and its fans on social media, after French referee Clément Turpin failed to call a clear foul on striker Harry Kane seconds before Norway scored the opening goal in the World Cup 2026 quarterfinal at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

In the 36th minute, Norwegian midfielder Patrick Berg went in hard on Kane, but Turpin waved play on, allowing Norway to capitalize as Andreas Schjelderup fired a rocket cross that nestled into the top corner of Jordan Pickford's net, giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead.

The Three Lions players protested vehemently, but VAR did not intervene to review the incident, sparking widespread questions about refereeing standards in the tournament—especially since German coach Thomas Tuchel had previously described Turpin as a 'fifth division' referee in 2023 after a Bayern Munich-Manchester City Champions League match, saying, 'I'd give him 1/10, his performance was very poor, it's unbelievable at this level.'

Tournament Rigged: Allegations on Social Media

The Sun reported that social media erupted with accusations that the tournament is 'fixed' and 'rigged.' One fan wrote on X: 'I turned off the Norway vs. England match and left. This is disgraceful and an insult to fans' intelligence. This tournament is rigged. Kane was 100% fouled.'

Another added: 'Foul on Kane before Norway's goal, VAR? Goal. I can say with confidence the tournament is rigged in Argentina's favor to ease their path to the final via Norway.'

A third commented: 'Oh my god, a foul was called on Kane. England were cheated. This tournament is rigged for Norway.'

Fans linked the incident to a similar case in the Argentina vs. Egypt round of 16 match, where VAR disallowed Egypt's second goal in the 58th minute by calling a foul by Marwan Attia on Lisandro Martínez, before Argentina came back from two goals down to win 3-2, fueling suspicions of double standards in refereeing.

Bellingham Saves England Despite Controversy

Despite the fury, Jude Bellingham equalized for England in the first half with a superb strike into the bottom corner, before the Three Lions survived a scare when Turpin disallowed a Norway goal scored by Torbjørn Heggem from a corner, citing a foul by Erling Haaland on Elliot Anderson—a decision that sparked counter-allegations of referee bias.

Bellingham won the match with a second goal early in extra time to give England a 2-1 victory and a semifinal berth, but the refereeing controversy overshadowed the result, with growing calls for a comprehensive review of officials and VAR in the tournament.