Martin Odegaard was at the center of a heated exchange with the referee during Norway’s contentious draw with Slovakia.

The Scandinavian nation was tied 1-1 on Tuesday evening. Former Crystal Palace striker Alexander Sorloth gave his team the lead early on.

He believed he had a second right before the break, nodding home from Odegaard’s corner. The forward’s celebrations were cut short as the referee disallowed the score due to what he thought to be a push by Sorloth.

That decision did not go down well in Norway. Odegaard was in the center of the protests following the call and the subsequent VAR verdict.

He and Erling Haaland argued with the referee. That continued when the halftime whistle blew, as he furiously remonstrated with the fourth official, while Sorloth repeated his accusations to the referee.

Norway’s displeasure grew only minutes after the break. They were awarded a penalty after former Southampton winger Mohamed Elyounoussi was brought down in the area.

Manchester City star Haaland took responsibility for his country, but his shot was saved by Slovakian goalkeeper Marek Rodák. He turned to social media shortly after the game to apologize.

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Slovakia eventually equalized with Ondrej Duda in the 87th minute. Despite Odegaard and Haaland’s difficult situation, the Arsenal star’s teammate has stepped in to defend him. Oscar Bobb has stated that Odegaard is one of the greatest in his field in the world.

“It is a dream to play with Martin. Having one of the world’s best No. 10s next to me makes it much easier,” the Man City starlet told TV2.

Odegaard has since returned the favour after Bobb earned comparisons to his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka. He said: “They are two fantastic players, and two players who are very good with the ball. Oscar is perhaps more of a ball player and has been more of a midfielder, so a slightly different type.

“I have played with Saka for a long time, I know him well and it [our connection] works very well. Now I played with Oscar last time, and felt we had a very good link. We found each other and understood each other. It’s always nice to play with quality players. You could see the move he showed against the Czech Republic. He has an X-factor.”