England are through to the FIFA World Cup semi-finals – but in Norway the aftermath has descended into accusations of a “scandal”, claims of “unbelievably poor refereeing” and fresh outrage over the role of VAR.
The Three Lions fought back from the brink in the sweltering heat of Miami to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory after extra time, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice to shatter Norway’s World Cup dream.
Yet within minutes of the final whistle, the focus had shifted from England’s resilience to two hugely controversial moments that Norwegian pundits believe robbed their side of the greatest victory in the nation’s footballing history.
Leading broadcasters, former internationals and television analysts all questioned whether the officials had handed England a decisive helping hand.
The first flashpoint came midway through the second half.
With the scores level at 1-1 after Bellingham’s first-half stoppage-time equaliser had cancelled out Andreas Schjelderup’s opener, Norway thought they had regained the lead when defender Torbjørn Heggem bundled the ball into the net.
Wild celebrations quickly turned to disbelief.
After a lengthy VAR review, officials ruled that Erling Haaland had fouled Newcastle midfielder Elliot Anderson inside the penalty area in the build-up, and the goal was chalked off.
The decision sparked immediate fury.
Norway’s state broadcaster NRK, the country’s equivalent of the BBC, led its post-match coverage by questioning the ruling.
Football expert Kristoffer Løkberg launched an extraordinary attack on the officials.
“It is a scandal that Norway have been denied that 2-1 goal,” he said.
“It is unbelievably poor refereeing. Elliot Anderson threw himself backwards without any provocation. It’s closer to simulation than a foul by Haaland.”
His colleague Lars Tjærnås was even more blunt, writing on X: “What a total farce VAR is for football.”
The criticism spread rapidly across Norwegian television.
On TV2, analyst Simen Stamsø-Møller dismissed the foul decision as absurd.
“Yes, there is a push, but that happens everywhere inside the penalty area,” he said.
“There’s a push here, there’s a push there, everywhere. It’s because he throws himself. No, stop being ridiculous.”
But the VAR controversy was only half the story.
Norwegian broadcasters also questioned the legitimacy of England’s equaliser, claiming the ball may have struck the overhead camera cable moments before Bellingham fired home.
According to the Laws of the Game, play should be stopped if the ball makes contact with an outside agent, with possession restarting via a dropped ball.
Norway manager Ståle Solbakken revealed his players and coaching staff immediately suspected something had happened.
“It’s not the main story here, and I’m not blaming that,” he said.
“But the whole bench reacted immediately when the ball dropped in front of them. Ørjan [Nyland] reacted immediately.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt it hit something, but unfortunately, we’ll have to live with that for the rest of our lives.”
TV2 football expert Jesper Mathisen insisted the incident should have resulted in England’s goal being ruled out.
“The goal should have been disallowed because the referee should have stopped play and restarted with a dropped ball after Nyland’s kick,” he said.
As the debate intensified, FIFA moved to calm the controversy.
Tournament officials confirmed they had reviewed data from the sensor embedded inside the official match ball and found no evidence whatsoever that it had struck the overhead camera cable.
That explanation has done little to satisfy Norwegian critics.
Nettavisen, one of Norway’s largest news websites, devoted extensive coverage to both contentious decisions.
Løkberg doubled down on his criticism.
“If that ball hit the camera or the cable, this is a scandal,” he said.
“It should have been a dropped ball, not 1-1.
“I have no words. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before.
If this proves decisive, it will go down as one of the biggest World Cup scandals of all time.
Former Norway international Carl-Erik Torp agreed.
“If it turns out the ball hit the cable, then from a Norwegian point of view this would be one of the biggest refereeing scandals of all time.”
For England, however, none of the controversy will matter.
After surviving Norway’s first-half dominance, Thomas Tuchel’s side once again found their talisman in Jude Bellingham.
The Real Madrid superstar dragged England level on the stroke of half-time before producing the decisive moment just three minutes into extra time, coolly finishing to complete a remarkable comeback and seal a place in the semi-finals.
As England’s players celebrated in front of thousands of jubilant supporters, Norway were left wondering what might have been.
Even amid the anger, Løkberg admitted his country could hold their heads high.
“It has been unbelievably intense,” he said.
What drama, and what a heroic Norwegian team, who were the better side for large parts of the game.
“In the game of fine margins, unfortunately, the margins went against us.
“But there is a Norwegian team down there that can be proud in defeat.”
Whether the controversy fades or continues to dominate headlines, one thing is certain: England march on in pursuit of World Cup glory, while Norway head home convinced that two controversial decisions changed the course of their greatest night.
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