Norway coach Ståle Solbakken has spoken out about Jude Bellingham’s controversial equalizer against England, insisting it was “quite clear” the ball hit the overhead camera cable before the goal. The incident happened late in the first half of Norway FIFA World Cup quarter-final defeat, when goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland launched a goal kick that appeared to hit a camera wire suspended above the pitch. England quickly regained possession, and Bellingham finished the move to level the scores. Nyland and Solbakken immediately appealed to the referee, believing that the game should have been stopped. In any case, the protests were dismissed, and the goal remained. Television replays appeared to show the ball making contact with the cable. FIFA, however, later maintained that there was “no evidence that the ball touched the top wire and changed the movement of the ball”. Explaining the referee’s response, Solbakken said the official was not aware of any contact. “He said he didn’t see it himself and he didn’t get any message that it actually happened.” “Since Fifa says there was no touch, I can’t do anything. But the ball fell directly in front of the bench, so it did. Everyone saw what happened. I think it’s pretty clear that it did. It was a strange thing.” Under the Laws of the Game, if the referee or match officials determine that the ball has touched an outside object, such as an overhead cable, play must be stopped and restarted with a dropped ball. As the officials detected no contact, play continued without interruption and England capitalized by scoring. Despite his disappointment, Solbakken refused to dwell on the incident, choosing instead to praise his players for their efforts throughout the tournament. “I can sit here and cry, but I don’t want to do that. We did everything we could – the players were phenomenal throughout the tournament. OK it was strange, but it’s part of football and because it’s the best sport in the world because things like that can happen. We have to accept it,” he said. The Norway boss also felt the unexpected trajectory of the ball after the alleged contact created confusion among his players at a decisive moment. “It was unfortunate for us. The ball fell directly from the sky, so it took this direction. It became a misunderstanding between our players, and it was a bad moment for us. We can’t do anything about it. I don’t think we will play the game again, so it is,” he added. England eventually won 2-1 after extra time, with Bellingham scoring both goals to send the Three Lions into the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.