See, this is how conspiracy theories get started.This deep into the World Cup, every goal, every VAR review, every single touch carries possible title implications. And, by the same rationale, every touch also carries the potential for sinister conspiracy at least in the eyes of those whose squad ends up on the wrong end of the call.Conspiracy-minded World Cup fans always have a bounty of evidence to fuel their dark suspicions, and 2026 has brought a whole new set of potential reddit threads: overturned red cards, suspiciously late calls, debatable VAR decisions. Saturdays England-Norway match brought us new variants for Norse conspiracists including The Cable of God.Forty years ago, Argentina bounced England from the World Cup with Diego Maradonas infamous Hand of God move a goal he punched into the net with his left hand. Saturday brought a moment being called the Cable of God, which is descriptive if not exactly theologically sound.The scenario: late in the first half, Norway snared a 1-0 lead off the toe of Andreas Schjelderup. But just minutes later, England flipped the pitch, and Jude Bellingham thundered in a strike to equalize. Magnificent! Glorious! And, as it turned out, controversial!TV replays appeared to show Norway keeper Orjan Nylans goal kick clipping an overhead camera cable before dropping sharply in the path of Englands Elliot Anderson. And, since play wasnt halted, well equalized!On the play that led to England's equalizer, the ball hit the FIFA sky cam before the goal. pic.twitter.com/QZgYSVcSpK FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 11, 2026Norways coaches immediately took issue with the no-call, first approaching the officials and, in one case, the media. Before the goal, the ball hits the wire with the camera and the ball changes direction and the ball becomes shorter than it should have been, Norway assistant coach Kent Bergersen told Norways TV2 at the half. The referee should have looked into that. Theres nothing we can do about it now. Well just have to grit our teeth.FIFA, however, contended in a later social media post that the sensors in the 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.England manager Thomas Tuchel said after the match that he hadnt seen the incident but acknowledged his team benefited from key moments going its way. Im not saying that we were lucky to win, but we were lucky in decisive moments, Tuchel said. You need moments where youre lucky. Otherwise, its just not possible.Eleven minutes into the second half, Norway apparently did grit their teeth when Torbjrn Heggem converted a corner kick into what sure seemed to be a 2-1 lead. But the dreaded VAR review found a victim: modern-day viking Erling Haaland. While jostling for position, Haaland apparently shoved Anderson just a wee bit too hard.Norway nearly regained the lead over England, but a foul was called after a VAR check pic.twitter.com/LdQ7aNoVmL FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 11, 2026Verdict: No goal!Now, in the interest of fairness, England had a goal disallowed late in the first half, when Harry Kane punched in the ball while offside. And officials waved off a potential England penalty kick when video review determined that Englands Djed Spence wasnt actually tripped in the box.But heres the issue that the World Cup has created: When VAR is literally used to determine whether a players hair contacted a ball in play, youre setting a standard that analysis on a molecular level is acceptable. And therefore, any time theres a provable but uncalled mistake, like a ball hitting a cable, theres justifiable range from the wronged party.The easiest way to avoid falling victim to a conspiracy theory, though, is to render it irrelevant. Norway had its chances throughout the entire match, and failed over the course of 120-plus minutes to net a second legitimate goal. Haaland, so dominant throughout this World Cup, was all but invisible Saturday night, with just two shots and only one on target.This marked the high-water point in Norways national team history, and the future looks bright for the Vikings and their waves of fans. But thanks to Saturdays debatable moments, theyll have plenty to gnaw on as they row back across the Atlantic.