FIFA clears England goal after ball sensor debunks cable touch claim

FIFA used the sensor inside the match ball to clear England’s controversial equalizer against Norway. The data showed no sign that Ørjan Nyland’s goal kick touched the cable of an overhead camera before Jude Bellingham scored in the 45+2 minute at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

The Connected Ball showed no spike in the “heartbeat of the ball,” the data trace that records impact in real time. The ball’s built-in sensor did not register a hit from the Skycam wire and did not show any change in the ball’s path that would have suggested contact. Under the laws of the game, if the ball had struck an outside object, play should have been stopped and restarted with a dropped ball.

A replay on FOX suggested Nyland’s clearance brushed the cable for the overhead camera. FOX rules analyst Mark Clattenburg said that if the ball touches an external object, the correct decision is a dropped ball. The referee, Clément Turpin, allowed play to continue.

Norway’s players reacted immediately. Nyland struck the turf in frustration, while Erling Haaland and coach Ståle Solbakken challenged Turpin as the teams headed to the break. Bellingham’s goal stood, giving him his fifth of the tournament at that point, and England went on to win 2-1 in extra time with another Bellingham strike.

The same technology overturned a potential Croatia goal against Portugal after detecting player contact.