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

The Norwegian team, according to the British BBC, 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 were 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 shows the margins were very small, and we know which way they went."

For his part, 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. Perhaps you need that kind of luck in matches like these."

Tuchel said there is an electronic chip inside the ball that can tell you if it touched it 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 Elliot Anderson during a corner kick.

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

England were trailing to a goal from Andreas Schjelderup when the controversy occurred in first-half stoppage time. Replays showed that goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland's goal kick passed close to the suspended camera wire, before the ball dropped in front of Elliot Anderson, who passed to Anthony Gordon, who then set up Bellingham to calmly score the equalizer.

Several Norway 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 didn't receive any confirmation that it happened. That's a logical explanation, and if FIFA says the ball didn't touch the wire and no signal was sent from the electronic chip inside the ball, then the referee can't do anything."

He added: "But the ball suddenly dropped from the sky in front of the bench, so I believe 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 said on BBC: "It looks like the trajectory of the ball changed and then it dropped quickly, as if something altered its direction."

Later, FIFA announced that there was "no evidence" that the ball touched the wire.

FIFA explained through 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 was 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)

Nevertheless, Solbakken stuck to his view, saying: "If the chip didn't send any signal, I can't 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. To me, it was clear, and it was a very strange incident."

This incident comes just days after a similar controversy in the tournament, when the '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 it even a hair, as happened in the Croatia vs 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 decisive moments, saying: "I'm not saying we won by luck, but we were lucky in the crucial moments."