Norway bid farewell to the 2026 World Cup with a 2-1 loss to England in the quarter-finals, but the exit was not without controversy, as their players believed that the equalizer scored by Jude Bellingham should have been disallowed for an unusual reason.

According to the British network BBC, the Norwegian team believed that the ball hit one of the camera wires suspended above the pitch in Miami during the build-up to Bellingham's goal. According to the laws of the game, if it was proven that the ball touched the wire, the goal should have been disallowed and play resumed with a dropped ball.

Norway and Fulham midfielder Sander Berge said: "What happened with the wire is unbelievable. The 2-1 scoreline confirms that the margins were very small, and we know well which way they went."

In turn, Norway captain Martin Ødegaard expressed his displeasure with some refereeing decisions, saying: "I didn't see the incident myself, but the small details were not in our favor today. Maybe you need such luck in matches like this."

Tuchel said there is an electronic chip inside the ball that can tell you if it touched even a hair (AFP)

This was not the only incident that angered the Norwegians, as the referee disallowed a goal scored by Torbjørn Heggem in the second half after a VAR review, due to Erling Haaland pushing English player Elliott Anderson during a corner kick.

Berge said: "Haaland having immense physical strength is an advantage, but you get punished if you hold the opponent."

England was trailing to a goal by Andreas Schjelderup when the controversy occurred in stoppage time of the first half. Replays showed that goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland's goal kick passed near the suspended camera wire, before the ball fell in front of Elliott Anderson, who passed it to Anthony Gordon, who laid it off to Bellingham, who calmly scored the equalizer.

Several Norwegian players quickly surrounded French referee Clément Turpin demanding the goal be disallowed, while coach Ståle Solbakken was seen discussing with the referee at halftime.

Solbakken said: "The referee told me he didn't see the incident himself, and he didn't receive any signal confirming it happened. That is a logical explanation, and if FIFA says the ball did not touch the wire and no signal was emitted from the electronic chip inside the ball, then the referee couldn't do anything."

He added: "But the ball suddenly dropped from the sky in front of the substitutes' bench, so I think it touched the wire. Many on the bench noticed it immediately, although I wasn't one of them."

For his part, former England striker Wayne Rooney told BBC: "It looks like the ball's trajectory changed and then it dropped quickly, as if something changed its direction."

Later, FIFA announced that there is "no evidence" of the ball touching the wire.

FIFA explained via its media account that the electronic sensor inside the ball did not record any change in signal while it was in the air, meaning there is no evidence of it hitting the wire or its trajectory being altered by it.

FIFA explained that the electronic sensor inside the ball did not record any change in signal while it was in the air (AFP)

Despite this, Solbakken stuck to his opinion, saying: "If the chip did not emit any signal, then I cannot argue with that, but everyone, including the goalkeeper and the player who was waiting for the ball, saw that it suddenly fell from the sky. For me it was clear, and it was a very strange incident."

This incident comes just days after a similar controversy in the tournament, when 'Snicko' technology was used to help disallow a goal for Croatia against Portugal in the Round of 32, after the electronic chip detected a slight touch by Igor Matanović, who was in an offside position.

England coach Thomas Tuchel said: "There is an electronic chip inside the ball that can tell you if it touched even a hair, as happened in the Croatia-Portugal match, so it should be able to determine whether it touched the wire here. I personally didn't see the incident."

Tuchel, on the other hand, admitted that luck was on his team's side in some crucial moments, saying: "I'm not saying we won by luck, but we were lucky in the decisive moments."