Ball sensor confirms Japanese goal

In the 51st minute, midfielder Kaoru Mitoma tried to cross the ball to the left on the crossbar for Ao Tanaka to cushion an empty net to seal a 2-1 victory for Japan against Spain on the evening of December 1. Initially, referee Victor Gomes did not recognize the goal because the line referee announced that the ball had crossed the line. But after a few minutes of conferring with his assistants and VAR, Mr. Gomes decided to concede the goal.

A video released by the Arabic-language beIN Sports channel after the game shows the ball not completely passing over the line, with a small portion remaining on it. That means Tanaka's goal is valid. Without this goal, Japan would have been eliminated and Germany would be the team to enter the 1/8 round with Spain.

According to Article 9 of FIFA's football rules on the state of the ball on the field, the ball is considered out of the field when it has "completely crossed the line, whether on the ground or in the air". In this case, Japan's ball had drifted all the way to the ground, but not all the way through the air.

On the English channel beIN Sports, former British referee Mike Dean also said that "the Japanese goal was valid".

Goal-line technology does not apply in this situation because the ball is not in the goal. But based on dozens of cameras and sensors in the Al Rihla ball at the 2022 World Cup, the organizers can better determine the position of the ball.

The sensor inside the Al Rihla ball was also used to confirm that Ronaldo was not the scorer in the situation where Portugal opened the scoring against Uruguay on the evening of November 28.

Japan not only entered the 1/8 round but also topped the group, and will meet Croatia in the 1/8 round at Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah city on February 5. And Spain second in the group, playing Morocco at Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan city.