Jude Bellingham scored England’s equaliser. (Image: Getty)
Jude Bellingham’s first-half equalizer against Norway at the World Cup should not have ignored little-known FIFA rules, including VAR’s oversight of another violation in the North American tournament. Midway through the opening 45 minutes of the match, England’s Andreas Schjelderup slipped what appeared to be a cross into the back of Jordan Pickford’s goal.
There was a claim that Harry Kane had committed a foul in the build-up and that VAR should have intervened to nullify the attack, but referee Clement Turpin did nothing and allowed the goal. Bellingham finally came to the rescue of his country as the first half drew to a close, showing incredible strength and fluid footwork to thwart the Norwegian defense and score from close range. However, according to FIFA tournament regulations, the goal should not have been scored.
Orjan Nyland appeared to clip the camera cable at the start of the goal kick, but the ball was picked up by Elliott Anderson in the middle of the park. Anderson then found Anthony Gordon, who connected the ball to Bellingham in front of goal.
However, FIFA rules state that if the ball hits a camera cable during play, a drop ball should be played, meaning Bellingham’s goal should not have stood. In the correct process, VAR should have intervened in the aftermath of Bellingham’s finish and advised Turpin on the correct course of action.
However, this did not happen and the match was restarted at 1-1. Mark Clattenburg explained the rules during a live broadcast of the game on FOX. He told viewers: “VAR may intervene if the ball touching the camera cable is part of a verifiable incident. The attacking phase of play that leads to a goal is also part of a verifiable incident for VAR. VAR should have been brought up.”
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Jude Bellingham scored five goals for England at the World Cup. (Image: Getty)
FIFA later announced that it checked the data and noted that “the graph from the connected ball heart rate sensor had no peaks.” This came just days after another controversial VAR decision changed the course of Argentina’s Round of 16 match against Egypt. Already leading 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Yasser Ibrahim, Mostafa Zico scored what would be one of the finishes of the tournament.
Lisandro Martinez lost the ball deep in Egypt’s half and Haisem Hassan ran all over the pitch, defeating two opponents along the way. From there, he played the ball to Mohamed Salah, who in turn threaded the ball to Zico inside the Argentina box, who effortlessly fired past Emi Martinez.
However, VAR intervened moments later and determined that Martinez had committed a foul when he lost possession, ultimately canceling out the goal that would have given Egypt a 2-1 lead. The decision infuriated Alan Shearer, who detailed the incident in a recent edition of The Rest of Football.
“The reason why so many people are so angry is because just as I don’t think what happened with Salah in the penalty box was a penalty, just as I don’t think pulling his shirt in the penalty box was a penalty, the same logic applies to that free kick that was awarded,” he said.
“So if you’re going to give that away, there’s a big debate about whether you should score one of those…but if you give it away as a foul, you’re actually going to step back 110 yards and say, ‘Sorry, that was a foul. That nullifies one of the best goals of the tournament.’
“I think and I can say what I want here. I think this is complete nonsense. I really do. No wonder there are so many theories about ‘stink.'” The top four in the world rankings are England, France, Spain and Argentina.
“If they win the group stage, it’s guaranteed that they won’t play until the semi-finals. There’s interference from the president’s phone call, and it’s Argentina’s fault in that game. You think, ‘No wonder.'” You can’t blame the people who come up with these theories, can you? ”
