FIFA has denied that the ball touched the wires on the pitch before England's equalizer against Norway in the 2026 World Cup quarter-final, which the Three Lions won 2-1.
"Before England's goal in the 45+2 minute against Norway, the sensors on the Connected Ball did not show any spike in the 'ball's heartbeat' while in the air, so there is no evidence that the ball touched the cables above the pitch and changed its direction.
The incident began when Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Nyland's goal kick appeared to change direction in mid-air, leading to suspicions that the ball hit one of the cables supporting a robotic camera above the pitch.
Moments later, England had the ball in their own half before Jude Bellingham equalised on the stroke of half-time.
According to the rules of the game, if the ball is found to have touched a cable or object on the field, play should have been stopped and a drop ball was used to determine possession. However, play continued because the match officials did not declare the incident to have occurred.
FIFA explained that there was no evidence from the ball sensor indicating contact with the cable, so play was not stopped. It was also unknown at the end of the match.
