FIFA set record straight as Norway left furious by Jude Bellingham goal in quarter-final
England fell a goal behind to Norway early into their World Cup quarter-final clash, only for Jude Bellingham to come to his nation's rescue moments later
Jude Bellingham's first-half equaliser against Norway in the World Cup could have been chalked off due to a little-known FIFA regulation, with VAR overlooking a potential breach at the tournament in North America. England fell behind midway through the opening 45 minutes, with Andreas Schjelderup beating Jordan Pickford with what looked like a cross.
While there were suggestions that Harry Kane had been fouled in the build-up, and that VAR ought to have stepped in to disallow the strike, referee Clement Turpin took no action and let the goal stand. Bellingham eventually bailed out his country as the first-half neared its conclusion, displaying remarkable strength and sublime footwork to fend off Norway's defence before tucking home from close range.
Yet the Norway team were complaining that the goal ought to have been ruled out according to FIFA's tournament regulations. Orjan Nyland appeared to catch a camera cable with his goal kick at the beginning of the sequence, before the ball was collected by Elliot Anderson in the middle of the park.
Anderson then located Anthony Gordon, who subsequently laid the ball off to Bellingham ahead of the goal. However, FIFA regulations stipulate that a drop ball must be awarded if a ball strikes a camera cable during play, meaning that Bellingham's goal ought not to have stood.
The procedure would have seen VAR step in following Bellingham's finish, to inform Turpin on the appropriate course of action. However, that didn't come to pass, with the game picking back up at 1-1.
Mark Clattenburg shed light on the rule during FOX's live broadcast of the match. He told viewers: "VAR can interfere if that contact of the ball on the camera cable is part of a reviewable incident, an attacking phase of play leading to a goal is part of the VAR reviewable incident. It should have been picked up the VAR."
However, FIFA have stated that the ball did not in fact touch the cable, adding that they "have checked the data and no peak on the graph from the connected ball heartbeat sensor," meaning the goal was valid.
This follows hot on the heels of another contentious VAR ruling that disrupted play during Argentina's round of 16 encounter with Egypt. Already sitting on a 1-0 advantage courtesy of Yasser Ibrahim's early strike, Mostafa Ziko netted what would have ranked among the most spectacular finishes of the tournament.
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Lisandro Martinez was dispossessed deep inside the Egyptian half, with Haissem Hassan charging the full length of the pitch and beating two defenders along the way. He then slipped the ball to Mohamed Salah, who threaded a perfectly-weighted pass through to Ziko in the Argentina box, who slotted coolly past Emi Martinez.
Yet VAR stepped in shortly afterwards, adjudging Martinez to have been fouled as possession was lost, ultimately disallowing the goal that would have handed Egypt a 2-1 lead. The ruling left Alan Shearer incensed as he dissected the incident in a recent episode of The Rest Is Football.
He said: "The reason why, I guess, so many people will get angry is because, as much as I don't think the Salah incident in the penalty box was a penalty, as much as I don't think the shirt pull in the box was a penalty, that same logic applies for that free-kick which was given.
"So, if you're going to give that one, then there's a huge argument to say well one of those has to be...If you're giving that as a foul, you're actually going 110 yards back, and saying, 'Sorry that was a foul, we're going to disallow one of the best goals of the tournament.'".
"I think, and I can say what I want on here; I think it's utter and complete b***cks. I really do. No wonder there's so many theories about, 'It stinks.' You've got the top four in the world rankings, England, France, Spain and Argentina.
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"If they win their group, then it's guaranteed they can't meet each other until a semi-final. You've got interference from presidents making calls, and then you get that in that game because of Argentina. You think, 'No wonder.' You can't blame people for coming up with these theories, can you?"