Portugal beat Uruguay 2-0 on Monday as they became the third country to book their place in the round of 16, following in the footsteps of France and Brazil.
However, according to reports, FIFA may review Portugal’s opening goal in the victory over Uruguay to determine whether it belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo or Bruno Fernandes.
Ronaldo headed high after a cross from Fernandes in the 54th minute. He then celebrated downright with his teammates. However, FIFA determined that the 37-year-old striker had not touched the ball, so Fernandes was given credit for the opening goal.
“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.” FIFA said in a statement.
“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.” FIFA added.
Meanwhile Fernandes has insisted after the game that he didn’t care whether he would be awarded the goal or not.
“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.” Fernandes said.
“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 added.
