See, this is how conspiracy theories get started.
This deep into the World Cup, every goal, every VAR review, every single touch carries possible title implications. And, by the same rationale, every touch also carries the potential for sinister conspiracy … at least in the eyes of those whose squad ends up on the wrong end of the call.
Advertisement
Conspiracy-minded World Cup fans always have a bounty of evidence to fuel their dark suspicions, and 2026 has brought a whole new set of potential reddit threads: overturned red cards, suspiciously late calls, debatable VAR decisions. Saturday’s England-Norway match brought us new variants for Norse conspiracists including “The Cable of God.”
Forty years ago, Argentina bounced England from the World Cup with Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” move — a goal he punched into the net with his left hand. Saturday brought a moment being called the “Cable of God,” which is descriptive if not exactly theologically sound.
The scenario: late in the first half, Norway snared a 1-0 lead off the toe of Andreas Schjelderup. But just minutes later, England flipped the pitch, and Jude Bellingham thundered in a strike to equalize. Magnificent! Glorious! And, as it turned out, controversial!
TV replays appeared to show Norway keeper Orjan Nylan’s goal kick clipping an overhead camera cable before dropping sharply in the path of England’s Elliot Anderson. And, since play wasn’t halted, well … equalized!
Norway’s coaches immediately took issue with the no-call, first approaching the officials and, in one case, the media. “Before the goal, the ball hits the wire with the camera and the ball changes direction and the ball becomes shorter than it should have been,” Norway assistant coach Kent Bergersen told Norway’s TV2 at the half. “The referee should have looked into that. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ll just have to grit our teeth.”
Advertisement
FIFA, however, contended in a later social media post that the sensors in the ball “showed no peak in the ‘heartbeat of the ball’ when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel said after the match that he hadn’t seen the incident but acknowledged his team benefited from key moments going its way.
“I’m not saying that we were lucky to win, but we were lucky in decisive moments,” Tuchel said. “You need moments where you’re lucky. Otherwise, it’s just not possible.”
Eleven minutes into the second half, Norway apparently did grit their teeth when Torbjørn Heggem converted a corner kick into what sure seemed to be a 2-1 lead. But the dreaded VAR review found a victim: modern-day viking Erling Haaland. While jostling for position, Haaland apparently shoved Anderson just a wee bit too hard.
Verdict: No goal!
Advertisement
Now, in the interest of fairness, England had a goal disallowed late in the first half, when Harry Kane punched in the ball while offside. And officials waved off a potential England penalty kick when video review determined that England’s Djed Spence wasn’t actually tripped in the box.
But here’s the issue that the World Cup has created: When VAR is literally used to determine whether a player’s hair contacted a ball in play, you’re setting a standard that analysis on a molecular level is acceptable. And therefore, any time there’s a provable but uncalled mistake, like a ball hitting a cable, there’s justifiable range from the wronged party.
The easiest way to avoid falling victim to a conspiracy theory, though, is to render it irrelevant. Norway had its chances throughout the entire match, and failed over the course of 120-plus minutes to net a second legitimate goal. Haaland, so dominant throughout this World Cup, was all but invisible Saturday night, with just two shots and only one on target.
Advertisement
This marked the high-water point in Norway’s national team history, and the future looks bright for the Vikings and their waves of fans. But thanks to Saturday’s debatable moments, they’ll have plenty to gnaw on as they row back across the Atlantic.
Read the full article here