Former Man United Manager Claims Norway Were 'Cheated' After Controversial England Defeat

Another layer of controversy has been added to the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a contentious quarter-final clash between England and Norway.

The match was marred by a disallowed goal for Norway and a disputed goal for England that stood despite the ball striking an overhead camera.

While Norway's coach, Ståle Solbakken, graciously accepted the result and wished England well, team manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær was furious with the officiating that led to their 2-1 defeat.

“Norway have been cheated. I don’t say that lightly, but I genuinely don’t understand how that goal has been disallowed,” Solskjær stated after the match.

“I watched the replay several times, and I don’t see enough contact from Erling Haaland on Anderson to justify cancelling the goal.”

The pivotal moment came when an Erling Haaland goal was chalked off. The referee, supported by VAR, ruled that Haaland had used excessive force by pushing England defender Elliot Anderson to the ground before a corner was taken. The decision determined that the shove had taken Anderson out of the play illegally.

Solskjær vehemently disagreed with the interpretation, arguing that the physicality was a normal part of the game.

“Football is a physical game. Players are allowed to compete for position. If we’re going to disallow goals for every slight touch, then we’ll be ruling out goals every weekend,” he argued.

“Haaland didn’t push him with excessive force, he didn’t pull him back, and he certainly didn’t do enough to make Anderson fall the way he did. For me, Anderson goes down far too easily, and the referee has rewarded it.”

The former Manchester United manager also criticised the application of the video assistant referee system, which was introduced to minimise officiating errors but has often become a source of debate.

“VAR is supposed to correct clear mistakes, not create controversy where there wasn’t any,” Solskjær continued. “I don’t believe this was a clear foul. I believe it was two players competing physically, which is something we’ve seen in football for decades.”

He emphasised the massive impact of the decision on the match's outcome. Had the goal stood, Norway would have taken a 2-1 lead with 35 minutes remaining, a position from which they could have defended deeply and utilised the counter-attacking threat of Haaland and the creativity of Martin Ødegaard.

“These decisions change matches. At 2–1, England are under enormous pressure. Instead, Norway has a perfectly good goal taken away, and that is incredibly difficult to accept,” Solskjær concluded.

“If that’s enough contact to disallow a goal, then football is becoming impossible for centre-forwards. In my opinion, Norway deserved that goal, and they’ve every right to feel extremely disappointed.”