Cristiano Ronaldo did not score Portugal’s opener in their 2-0 win over Uruguay at the World Cup, according to Adidas technology inside the match ball. Ronaldo claimed he had got the faintest of touches with his head on Bruno Fernandes’ cross to give Portugal the lead as he celebrated jubilantly, but FIFA later awarded the goal to Fernandes. The Manchester United midfielder, however, credited Ronaldo with the goal as he told reporters afterwards: “The feeling I had was that Cristiano touched the ball.” But Adidas have have now proven the 37-year-old never touched Fernandes’ cross thanks to a sensor inside the ball.
An Adidas statement read: “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. “No external force on the ball could be measured as shown by the lack of ‘heartbeat’ in the measurements and in the attached graphic. “The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows for a high level of accuracy in the analysis.”
