Why England’s equalizer against Norway should not have counted
· Yahoo Sports
England’s run at the 1986 World Cup came to a dramatic end due to the “Hand of God” goal scored by Diego Maradona.
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Could their run at the 2026 World Cup continue due to the “Cable of God?”
Norway took a 1-0 lead late in the first half during Saturday’s Quarterfinal match between the two teams, thanks to a thunderous strike from Andreas Schjelderup.
However, England pulled level moments later, on a lovely left-footed strike from Jude Bellingham:
HEY JUDE 🏴
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 11, 2026
THE EQUALIZER FOR ENGLAND. pic.twitter.com/FK0lpmFgBP
But should the goal have even counted?
FOX Sports cameras spotted Norway coach Stale Solbakken chatting with referee Clement Turpin after the goal, and Norway striker Erling Haaland was frustrated as well:
Ståle Solbakken had a word with the refs after the first half pic.twitter.com/gw6NFgEL77
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 11, 2026
Eventually, replay angles showed why. After a goal kick from keeper Orjan Nyland, the ball appeared to strike one of the FIFA skycam cables, falling to the feet of England’s Anthony Gordon:
On the play that led to England's equalizer, the ball hit the FIFA sky cam before the goal. pic.twitter.com/QZgYSVcSpK
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 11, 2026
On the FOX Sports broadcast, former referee Mark Clattenburg noted that under FIFA rules, the play should have stopped, and a dropped-ball resulted.
The ball hit the FIFA Skycam shortly before England's equalizer vs. Norway.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 11, 2026
"We've spoken to Mark Clattenburg, our rules expert, and he said if the ball touches any outside object, then the whistle should go and it should be a dropped-ball." #WorldCuppic.twitter.com/S4XWCoRnhYhttps://t.co/Ec5YNOIW0z
Clattenburg also noted that this was a play that could have been reviewed by VAR, but no review followed.
A review did come later in the match, but that potential go-ahead goal was taken off the board after VAR noted a foul by Haaland before Norway’s corner kick:
A look at the foul committed by Erling Haaland that led to Norway's goal being called back pic.twitter.com/rdnEFuDamw
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 11, 2026
The match remains tied at 1-1 deep into the second half, but no matter the result, expect that non-review to be part of the discussion.