Ian Wright and Roy Keane have strongly criticized Alfie Haaland, father of Erling Haaland, for his sarcastic remarks about referee Clement Turpin following Norway's World Cup quarter-final defeat to England. The match, held at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, saw England triumph 2-1 after a dramatic late goal from Jude Bellingham.
Match Controversy and Alfie Haaland's Reaction
Norway took the lead in the 36th minute through Andreas Schjelderup, who scored from a tight angle past Jordan Pickford. England equalized just before halftime when Bellingham fired a composed left-footed finish past Orjan Nyland. After the restart, Torbjorn Heggem thought he had restored Norway's lead with a close-range effort, but the goal was disallowed for a push by Erling Haaland on Elliot Anderson. Bellingham then scored the winner in the 93rd minute from a rebound.
Alfie Haaland, a former Premier League player, took to social media after the game. In response to a tweet from Fabrizio Romano, he wrote, 'Well done Bellingham and referee.' Later, reacting to Henry Winter's praise for Bellingham, he said, 'Really? Saved by the referee. Hope you win the WC now. But feel we got robbed today.'
Wright and Keane Respond
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Wright dismissed Haaland's comments as 'sour grapes.' He said, 'Is that sour grapes from Alf-Inge Haaland, saying well done to Bellingham and the referee? I think that was just a bit of a low blow from him.' On the disallowed goal, Wright added, 'He can't surely be referring to that because that was just a ridiculous push. In that particular moment, he's like six or seven inches taller, why does he need to be that aggressive with him? It's a massive foul. You can't be talking that.'
Wright also highlighted that Norway had only themselves to blame. 'If their goalkeeper had an unbelievable game... doesn't make that mistake... if [Alexander] Sorloth squares it, they're 2-0 up before half-time, you're not saying none of this! They lost this game because they made mistakes in that game. It's not because of the referee, the ball hitting the wire or whatever else they're saying. Foolishness!'
Keane acknowledged that Norway might feel aggrieved by some decisions but insisted the referee did not cost them the match. 'I think the referee was giving England a lot of calls, 50-50s. I'm not talking about the major ones. He seemed to be just on the side of England which can happen in a game. I'm not sitting here going, "He's cost Norway", absolutely not. But there was calls when you're going... it could have gone the other way.'
Keane also joked about Alfie Haaland's behavior in the stands, saying, 'Will he remember the game? Because he always seems to be drinking alcohol at the matches, the dad. No, he does! If you're having a drink then you're seeing the game differently.'
Gary Neville and Wright on England's Performance
Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville echoed Keane's remarks, stating he did not believe England were lucky due to the referee. 'I didn't think it was a game where, as an England fan, that I thought we were lucky because of the referee. I thought against Ghana we were lucky, when Ezri Konsa's penalty wasn't given, and that's when you are lucky, when you think you've got away with one.'
Wright praised defender Marc Guehi for his performance against Erling Haaland. 'I thought that Marc Guehi, in every type of interaction, I thought he was amongst him, he didn't get bullied off it, he fought for it.'
Haaland's World Cup and Norway's Exit
Erling Haaland, who finished the tournament with seven goals, was substituted late in the game for Jorgen Strand Larsen. Keane suggested Haaland lacked service from his teammates. 'I wouldn't say he had a bad game! Before the game, we were saying about how he scores every 14 touches, so the fact is in general play... And also, for the other lads playing against him, obviously it depends on a bit of service. You look at games, you get to a quarter-final and they've done brilliant... you've ran your race, they've just ran their race. You just couldn't imagine Norway in the semi-finals, could you? And England have one or two players with a bit more quality than Norway.'
England will face Argentina in the semi-finals after Lionel Messi's side defeated Switzerland 3-1.
