Sometimes, life imitates art. And football imitates football.<\/p>\n
During a Vikings-Browns game in England last season, a field goal attempt by Minnesota kicker Will Reichard apparently struck an overhead wire<\/a>. (The league strongly prefers that this not be mentioned<\/a>. So we won\u2019t.) During Saturday\u2019s 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\u2019s Jude Bellingham.<\/p>\n FIFA apparently would also strongly prefer that it not be mentioned.<\/p>\n Via ESPN, FIFA claims there is \u201cno evidence<\/a>\u201d that the ball hit a foreign object.<\/p>\n The rules require play to be stopped with a drop ball to resume the action, if it\u2019s noticed. Because it wasn\u2019t noticed, England won possession of the ball and soon thereafter scored.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore England\u2019s goal in minute 45+2 against Norway, the sensor in the Connected Ball showed no peak in the \u2018heartbeat of the ball\u2019 when in the air, and therefore no evidence that the ball touched the overhead wire and changed the movement of the ball,\u201d FIFA said in a statement.<\/p>\n The snafu in the Vikings-Browns game, which will not be mentioned, eventually was attributed by the NFL to an \u201coptical illusion.\u201d (At first, the league said there was \u201cno clear view<\/a>\u201d that Reichard\u2019s kick had struck a wire.)<\/p>\n