One of a kind technology helped to decide the scorer of Portugal's controversial goal against Uruguay on Monday, November 28, 2022.
Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring for Portugal in the 54th minute but Cristiano Ronaldo claimed that he was the one who scored the goal.
From the video replays, it was not clear whether Ronaldo touched the ball with his head before it flew into the back of the net.
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However, it was later confirmed that Fernandes was the one who scored it.
Al Rihla, the official match ball of the Qatar World Cup, has a technology which allows for high levels of accuracy.
A sensor is found inside the ball that helps match officials to come up with correct decisions.
It is designed in such a way that it cannot be noticed by the players and it also does not affect the performance of the ball.
The sensor provides insight into the elements of the ball movement. It has a battery which can be recharged when it runs dry.
According to Adidas, the firm which manufactured the Al Rihla, the ball is able to send data to the officials 500 times per second thanks to an inertial measurement unit.
The data assists to detect those touches that are not clear, thus improving the speed and quality of the decisions made by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
FIFA confirmed on Tuesday, November 29, that Bruno was actually the one who scored the goal.
"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 the measurements and in the attached graphic.
"The 500Hz IMU sensor inside the ball allows for a high level of accuracy in the analysis," read a statement from the world governing body.
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