Norway boss responds to FIFA statement over Spidercam England goal controversy

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Norway boss Stale Solbakken insists the ball appeared to strike Spidercam before England's equaliser - despite FIFA's statement claiming the

technology

says otherwise.

Solbakken, who was gracious in defeat, said in his post-match press conference: "Many on the bench reacted immediately I was not one of them. I can't say anything about that because FIFA, if there is no sound in the chip, what can I say against that

"The ball drops straight down from heaven. I saw another way just then so I also don't know what happened. I think it's pretty clear that it did and yeah, it was a strange thing."

Solbakken complained to referee Clement Turpin at the break but the officials were happy to award Jude Bellingham's leveller.

FIFA's statement later read: "Before England’s goal in minute 45+2 against

Norway

, the sensor in the Connected 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 boss Thomas Tuchel added that he trust the technology, explaining: "I heard that but there's a chip in the ball which can tell you if a hair touches it as we know since the

Croatia

vs

Portugal

game, they should be able to tell you if it happened. I think we just got lucky in decisive moments."

Norway captain Martin Odegaard admits he feels "bitter" about the controversial call. He said: "No, I mean, the match is over, so we can't do anything about it now. It’s just bitter. If we were standing here right now having been completely outplayed and lost 2-0, it would have been fine. Then you can just raise your hands, go home, and accept that that was the level. But when it's down to such small margins, and specific situations go against us, it feels extra bitter, especially when we were so close.

"But we can't focus too much on it. It’s done now. We have delivered an absolutely massive performance throughout this tournament, so we have to try to look past the disappointment and frustration, be proud of what we've done, and manage to focus on that."

Meanwhile, Norwegian goalscorer Andreas Schjelderup felt Norway's disallowed goal, scored by Torbjorn Heggem, should not have been ruled out for Erling Haaland's shove on Elliot Anderson.

He said: "I don't think the 2-1 goal should have been disallowed. If it's a free kick, then you can give a lot of free kicks during a football match.

"It's a very soft foul, and I actually feel a bit robbed. It was a crazy moment. It's fun to score your first World Cup goal on an occasion like that.

"He acknowledges that perhaps the shooting wasn't entirely intentional. It was a mix of a shot and a cross. I choose to believe that it was my late grandmother who guided that ball into the goal."