Erling Haaland‘s 2026 World Cup run came to an end in the quarterfinals as England secured their place in the semifinals. In the heated aftermath of a controversy-filled match, the Manchester City striker’s father, Alfie Haaland, directed his frustration squarely at the referee over Norway‘s eliminatio.
As the elimination sank in, Alfie Haaland, who was in the stands at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his displeasure. Responding to a Fabrizio Romano post highlighting Jude Bellingham‘s match-winning brace, he kept it short and pointed: “Well done Bellingham and referee.”
He followed that up by responding to a post from journalist Henry Winter, going further with his criticism. “Saved by the referee. Hope you win the WC now. But feel we got robbed today,” he wrote, making clear his belief that referee Clement Turpin had played a significant role in Norway’s elimination.
The controversies of England vs Norway
Andreas Schjelderup gave Norway the lead in the 36th minute, but Jude Bellingham had other ideas, equalizing in the 47th minute before completing the comeback with a goal in the 93rd minute of extra time to send England through.
The World Cup match was far from free of controversy, however. Turpin disallowed a Norway goal from Torbjorn Heggem in the 57th minute, with the score still level at 1-1, ruling that Haaland had fouled Elliot Anderson off the ball, ordering the corner to be retaken.
A second flashpoint emerged after the final whistle, with questions raised over whether the ball had struck an overhead wire in the buildup to Bellingham’s equalizer. FIFA issued a statement confirming that the ball’s contact sensor registered no impact with the wire, but Norway’s camp remained unconvinced by the explanation.
At his post-match press conference, head coach Ståle Solbakken relayed what his players had told him about the incident: “I can’t say anything about that because FIFA. If there’s no been no sound or there has been no (reading) in the chip, what can I say against that? But the ball drops down straight from heaven says everyone, including Orjan (Nyland), who is the goalie, including the guy who is going to receive the ball. I saw another way just then, so I wonder also what happened. I think it’s pretty clear that it did and it was a strange thing.“
