Adidas has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo did not get a touch on Bruno Fernandes’ cross during Portugal’s 2-0 victory over Uruguay at the World Cup on Monday.
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Ronaldo said he got a touch on Fernandes’ delivery to open the scoring for Portugal in the second half but television replays could not prove that he had made contact with the ball.
Ronaldo, who is the only male player to score at five World Cups, continued to argue with the decision after the game and appeared frustrated that Fernandes had been credited with the goal.
But adidas, who placed a sensor inside the World Cup ball, have confirmed that no touch from Ronaldo was detected.
The technology inside the ball can detect when a player touches the ball and the information is passed immediately to Video Assistant Referees.
‘In the match between Portugal and Uruguay, 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,’ a statement from FIFA on behalf of adidas read.
‘No external force on the ball could be measured as shown by the lack of ‘heartbeat’ in our measurements. ‘The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows us to be highly accurate in our analysis.’
After the game, Piers Morgan revealed he had received a message from Ronaldo saying that he did get a touch on the ball.
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes said he believed Ronaldo did actually make contact with his cross.
‘I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano’s goal,’ Fernandes said. ‘It seemed to me that he had touched the ball, my objective was to make a cross for him.
‘Regardless, we are happy for the victory, if one of us scores or the other does.’
