EXCLUSIVE: Cristiano Ronaldo DID NOT score Portugal’s first goal against Uruguay, adidas’ ‘highly accurate’ sensor inside the match ball confirms, despite his desperate claims that he touched it last
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Cristiano Ronaldo did not get a touch on the ball for Portugal’s opener in their 2-0 win over Uruguay, according to ‘highly accurate’ data taken from a sensor inside the match ball.
Debate has swirled over whether Ronaldo, who claimed the goal for himself and even texted Piers Morgan to confirm it, managed to apply the faintest of touches to Bruno Fernandes’ in-swinging cross.
FIFA awarded the goal to Fernandes, but the talismanic striker is convinced he should have been given it. Now, adidas have provided clear evidence that the 37-year-old’s former Man United team-mate was rightly credited.
adidas used technology in the ball to tell whether Bruno Fernandes scored against Uruguay
There was no touch from the forward, who claimed the goal but was not given it by FIFA
There is a sensor inside the match ball that was rigorously tested before the World Cup
Ronaldo wheeled away in celebration with his arm raised, celebrating scoring the opener
An Adidas statement read: ‘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.
‘The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows us to be highly accurate in our analysis.’
The ball found the far corner of the net and gave Portugal the lead on Monday
A highly-tuned motion sensor is embedded within the match balls at the Qatar World Cup in order to help the VAR with offside calls.
The technology allows data to be collected for every touch at the rate of 500 times per second. The sensor is powered by a rechargeable battery.
It was rigorously tested at grassroots level to make sure it was match ready for the World Cup, including a blind test in the FIFA Arab Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Johannes Holzmüller, Director Football Technology & Innovation at FIFA said: ‘This technology is the culmination of three years of dedicated research and testing by FIFA and our partner adidas.’
To the naked eye, it seemed as though Ronaldo had flicked the ball into the net, timing his run to perfection in the second half to break the deadlock.
Portugal went on to win the game 2-0 but Ronaldo was still annoyed at not being given it
The 37-year-old celebrated wildly, convinced, or attempting to convince others of his header
He wheeled away to the left and celebrated as if he’d scored his second of the tournament but then replays threw a spanner in the works.
Closer inspection showed no variation in the ball’s trajectory, although it was almost impossible to tell if it had brushed the hair on Ronaldo’s head.
Fans were divided over who should be credited but adidas’ data provides a clear answer.
Images of the cross being struck shows a clear deviation of the line measuring impact, there’s another significant jump when the ball hits the ground, but nothing when the ball passes Ronaldo’s head, showing he didn’t make contact after all.
CONNECTED BALL TECHNOLOGY EXPLAINED:
The 500Hz IMU sensor is placed in the centre of the adidas match balls for all World Cup games.
It is capable of measuring every touch at a rate of 500 times per second, making it incredibly accurate.
Data is immediately fed back to match officials when necessary to make offside decisions and assist the VAR.
In this case, the data has been used to show Ronaldo did not get a touch on the ball for Bruno Fernandes’ opening goal against Uruguay.
The sensor is powered by a rechargeable battery and took three years to perfect, including blind testing.
At the time, even Fernandes, who went on to add a second from the penalty spot late on, thought the opener was Ronaldo’s.
He said: ‘I don’t think it really matters who scored the goal at this point.
‘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.
‘The importance of us being first in the group includes us winning the next game, which would allow us to come out of the group undefeated. That is what we want.
‘We have a very organised team ahead of us on Friday, and our objective is to take it match by match.’
Fernandes’ relationship with Ronaldo came under scrutiny at the start of the tournament in light of the striker’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan, that led to him mutually cutting ties with Man United.
The pair shared a frosty looking handshake when Fernandes arrived for international duty but they later explained it away as a joke between the pair about his late arrival.
Ronaldo is an arch poacher and has come under scrutiny for looking miserable when his team-mates take a goal he could have scored, or sitting ashen-faced on the bench during games his teams are winning but he hasn’t managed to get on the scoresheet.
Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Portugal progressed to the last-16 of the tournament
Fernandes was outstanding for Portugal on Monday night and picked up the man of the match
He will hope to be in contention to win the golden boot at the World Cup, the last global showpiece he will compete at in his glittering career.
His penalty against Ghana in the team’s opening 3-2 win remains his only goal of the tournament for now.
It will be fascinating to see if he is given a start against South Korea in the final group game or denied the chance to add to his tally, in order to be rested for the last-16.
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