Adidas have confirmed their technology has proved Cristiano Ronaldo “definitively made no contact” with the ball for Portugal’s opening goal against Uruguay on Monday night.
Ronaldo was convinced he had got the last touch to Fernandes’s cross but replays proved inconclusive.
Initially, Ronaldo was named as the scorer, but the goal was later credited to his former Manchester United team-mate.
Adidas manufacture the Al Rihla ball at the World Cup and have cleared up any confusion regarding the goal.
The Al Rihla ball contains a sensor to assist in detecting unclear touches and improve the quality of VAR decision-making and an Adidas statement said: “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.
“No external force on the ball could be measured as shown by the lack of ‘heartbeat’ in our measurements and in the attached graphic.“
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The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows us to be highly accurate in our analysis.”
Fernandes said: “The most important thing is that we achieved our aim.
“I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano’s goal. It seemed to me that he had touched the ball.”
