ADIDAS BALL TECHNOLOGY has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo did not make contact with the ball for Portugal’s first goal in their World Cup win over Uruguay.
A Bruno Fernandes brace helped the country to a 2-0 victory, which sealed their spot in the last 16.
However, uncertainty surrounded the scorer of the first goal, as television replays could not definitively conclude whether Ronaldo made contact with the ball with his head, or if Fernandes’ cross sailed straight into the next.
Fifa attributed the goal to the Manchester United midfielder.
Adidas, the competition’s official ball supplier, have since confirmed that the 37-year-old did not make contact with the ball.
“Using the Connected Ball Technology housed in Adidas’s Al Rihla Official Match Ball, we are able to definitively show no contact on the ball from Cristiano Ronaldo for the opening goal in the game,” read an Adidas statement.
“No external force on the ball could be measured.
“The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows for a high level of accuracy in the analysis.”
Fernandes had indicated after the contest that he felt Ronaldo was the goal-scorer.
“I don’t think it really matters who scored the goal at this point,” he said.
“The feeling I had at the time was that Cristiano touched the ball. I was passing the ball to him.
“But the important thing was that we won tonight against a very tough opponent.”
Meanwhile, Piers Morgan tweeted Ronaldo had told him that he was the goal-scorer.
Ronaldo confirmed to me that his head touched the ball. Even Bruno agrees. https://t.co/8HfWHjSj6D
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan)
Portugal will face South Korea in their final game of Group H.
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