As he sprinted away to the corner flag with his arms spread wide on Monday, Cristiano Ronaldo thought he’d leveled Portugal great Eusebio’s record as the nation’s all-time World Cup scorer.
His teammates bundled onto him as they celebrated with the 37-year-old, while commentators and pundits praised him for getting the slightest of touches on Bruno Fernandes’ cross to divert the ball past the Uruguayan goalkeeper.
Ronaldo had his second goal in as many games at the 2022 World Cup and his ninth for Portugal at World Cups. Or so we thought.
As the party atmosphere in the Lusail Iconic Stadium kicked up a notch, a surprising announcement was made by the stadium announcer.
The goal had in fact been given to Fernandes, not Ronaldo.
After the game, Fernandes admitted that he thought Ronaldo had touched the ball.
“The feeling I had was that Cristiano touched the ball. I was passing the ball to him,” Fernandes told reporters, according to Reuters, after Portugal’s 2-0 victory which assured its qualification to the round of 16 in Qatar.
“What matters is that we’re going through to the next round after playing a very tough opponent.”
Piers Morgan, with whom Ronaldo gave an explosive TV interview before the World Cup about his frustrations at Manchester United, which resulted in his contract with the club being terminated, was quick to praise the Portugal forward, tweeting: “BOOM!!!!” and tagging Ronaldo with a photo of the Portugal forward celebrating.
After the goal was given to Fernandes, British three-time grand slam tennis champion Andy Murray made sure Morgan was aware he’d tagged the wrong player, replying: “I think @B_Fernandes8 is the Twitter handle you were looking for.”
Opticians Specsavers also suggested Morgan come in to have his eyes tested. “It was Bruno, do you need an appointment?” it said.
The awarding of the goal to Fernandes might have always been part of a bigger cosmic plan, if Fernandes’ children are to be believed.
“Before the game, my kids told me I was going to score two goals,” Fernandes – who scored his second from the penalty spot late on – told FIFA.
When asked about the incident, Portugal manager Fernando Santos refused to get involved, answering with a chuckle: “I think it was a great match, our team played very well and the rest for me does not matter.”
Adidas, manufacturers of the ball at the World Cup, said in a statement sent to CNN its technology showed that Ronaldo did not touch the ball.
“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,” the statement said.
“No external force on the ball could be measured as shown by the lack of ‘heartbeat’ in the measurements. The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows for a high level of accuracy in the analysis.”
CNN has reached out to FIFA to ask whether it will review its decision to award Fernandes the goal.
