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FIFA’s Spidercam became the biggest talking point after Norway claimed it illegally altered the build-up to Jude Bellingham’s equaliser.
(Screengrabs from X)
England’s dramatic 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway to reach the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals has been overshadowed by a major controversy surrounding FIFA’s Spidercam.
The incident occurred deep into first-half stoppage time with Norway leading 1-0 through Andreas Schjelderup’s fortuitous opener.
Goalkeeper Orjan Nyland launched a long clearance towards England’s half, but the ball appeared to strike the FIFA-approved Spidercam suspended above the pitch before dropping sharply into the path of Elliot Anderson instead of continuing its original trajectory.
England immediately capitalised.
Anderson surged forward before feeding Anthony Gordon, who slipped a clever pass into Jude Bellingham. The midfielder controlled superbly, beat Torbjorn Heggem and calmly finished to level the scores just before the interval.
Norway’s players and coaching staff instantly surrounded referee Clément Turpin, while television cameras showed manager Stale Solbakken leaving the pitch at half-time visibly furious. Members of the Norwegian bench repeatedly pointed towards the Spidercam as they argued the build-up should have been stopped.
According to the Laws of the Game, if the ball makes contact with an outside object such as the Spidercam, play should be halted immediately and restarted with a dropped ball.
However, FIFA sources maintained that the VAR team did not believe the ball had actually made contact with the camera system. Tournament sensors reportedly detected no impact, allowing the goal to stand.
Bellingham Wraps It Up For England
The controversial equaliser shifted the momentum completely.
Bellingham struck again just three minutes into extra time, reacting quickest after Orjan Nyland spilled Morgan Rogers’ powerful effort to complete England’s comeback and send the Three Lions into the last four.
England were also involved in another contentious VAR moment later in extra time when they were awarded a penalty after Djed Spence went down under pressure from Oscar Bobb. Turpin was eventually sent to the monitor and overturned his original decision, ruling that Spence had initiated the contact.
Despite Norway’s late pressure, England held on to book a semi-final against either Argentina or Switzerland.
About the Author
After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His…Read More
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