Sports

Hilarious moment Ronaldo discovered his goal had been given to Bruno

Published

2 years ago

November 30, 2022

New footage has emerged of the hilarious moment Cristiano Ronaldo realised his ‘goal’ against Uruguay at the World Cup had instead been awarded to Bruno Fernandes.

Ronaldo twice wildly celebrated after claiming he had got the feintest of touches to Fernandes’ cross for Portugal’s opening goal in the 2-0 win over the South American side and even text Piers Morgan after the game to say it was his.

The 37-year-old would have drawn level with Eusebio’s record of nine goals at the World Cup finals but it was given to Fernandes – a decision ratified by technology in the Adidas ball, as exclusively revealed by Sportsmail.

In the footage, captured on the broadcast of the Group H clash by Argentinian network TyC Sports, Ronaldo can be seen exuberantly celebrating as the goal had initially been awarded to him.

The camera then pans to the Portuguese star as Fernandes’ name flashes up as the goalscorer inside the Lusail Stadium.

Ronaldo jokingly throws his arms up in the air and smiles as he realises it had been awarded to former Manchester United team-mate Fernandes..

The talismanic striker was convinced he should have been given it. Now, Adidas have provided clear evidence that Fernandes was rightly credited.

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.’

Ronaldo 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.

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.’

The victory for Portugal over Uruguay secured their place in the knockout round at the World Cup.