Sometimes, life imitates art. And football imitates football.
During a Vikings-Browns game in England last season, a field goal attempt by Minnesota kicker Will Reichard apparently struck an overhead wire. (The league strongly prefers that this not be mentioned. So we won’t.) During Saturday’s England-Norway game in Miami, the ball apparently struck an overhead wire during first-half stoppage time of the World Cup quarterfinal, setting the stage for the decisive goal by England’s Jude Bellingham.
FIFA apparently would also strongly prefer that it not be mentioned.
Via ESPN, FIFA claims there is “no evidence” that the ball hit a foreign object.
The rules require play to be stopped with a drop ball to resume the action, if it’s noticed. Because it wasn’t noticed, England won possession of the ball and soon thereafter scored.
“Before England’s goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the Connected 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,” FIFA said in a statement.
The snafu in the Vikings-Browns game, which will not be mentioned, eventually was attributed by the NFL to an “optical illusion.” (At first, the league said there was “no clear view” that Reichard’s kick had struck a wire.)
Here’s the clip of the key moment from Sunday. The ball clearly moves in a sudden and abrupt way.
It’s a good thing that no one will be mentioning it.
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