Portugal are reportedly set to provide evidence to FIFA to prove Cristiano Ronaldo scored their first goal against Uruguay on Monday.
Fernando Santos' side booked their place in the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup by winning 2-0 at the Lusail Stadium. Manchester United superstar Bruno Fernandes was judged to have scored both of their goals, with the second being a penalty in added time.
Portugal's first goal was debatable, however. The ball found the net after Fernandes whipped a ball into a dangerous area for Ronaldo to head home. Yet FIFA believe Ronaldo did not make contact with the ball and have awarded the goal to Fernandes.
Portugal are said to be disappointed with FIFA's verdict, as Ronaldo is just one goal away from becoming the country's joint-record scorer alongside Eusebio. At 37, this is likely to be Ronaldo's last World Cup and he is running out of time to snatch the honour.
As reported by El Chiringuito TV, the Portuguese FA are going to present evidence to FIFA to prove it was Ronaldo's goal. It's unclear what evidence they have, whether it will be enough to overrule FIFA's cameras and when a final decision will be reached.
In the meantime, Fernandes can toast his World Cup brace. Speaking after the game, the United ace admitted he thought it was Ronaldo's goal. "I celebrated as if it had been Cristiano's goal," he told reporters. "It seemed to me that he had touched the ball.
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"My aim was to cross the ball for him. We are happy with the victory regardless of who scored. The most important thing is that we achieved our aim which is to be in the next round."
Portugal boss Santos didn't seem that bothered by the debate. He told reporters: "Ronaldo played a great game but all our team played a great performance. I think it was a great match, our team played very well and the rest for me does not matter."
Nor did Ruben Dias. The Manchester City defender added: "We know even though we have all the individuals in the world, if we don't work together we won't go anywhere. So this is a big example that we showed tonight. We are very happy we are moving forward to the next round. We must enjoy the moment."
One man who believes Ronaldo scored on Monday is his biggest fan Piers Morgan, who tweeted the word "BOOM" and a picture of the free agent after Fernandes found the net. "It was Bruno, do you need an appointment?" asked Specsavers.
Morgan then replied: "Ronaldo confirmed to me that his head touched the ball. Even Bruno agrees."
Regardless of what Morgan thinks, the decision will ultimately come down to FIFA. Ronaldo has at least two more opportunities to break the record in Portugal's next match against South Korea on Friday and their last-16 tie (opponents to be confirmed).
