Sweden's fourth goal in their 5-1 victory over Tunisia at the World Cup sparked controversy on Sunday — and its eventual validation hinged on a piece of technology borrowed from cricket.

Mattias Svanberg struck just 18 seconds after coming on as a substitute, converting a Yasin Ayari free-kick. He had initially been ruled offside, but protests from Sweden's players and coaching staff prompted a VAR review that ultimately overturned the decision.

How the technology works

The key to reversing the call was waveform technology similar to cricket's Snickometer — commonly known as Snicko. A sensor embedded in the Adidas Trionda match ball, part of the brand's Connected Ball Technology, detected the faintest of touches by Sweden and Liverpool striker Alexander Isak as the free-kick passed him.

Because Isak made contact with the ball at that moment, Svanberg had already moved back into an onside position — making the goal legal. Replays broadcast to viewers showed a flat-line sensor reading that spiked precisely as the ball passed Isak's outstretched foot.

Adidas describes the technology as enabling "faster in-game officiating decisions and more insight into gameplay than ever before." Data from every touch — whether by boot or hand — is transmitted to the VAR team in real time.

Former Republic of Ireland striker Clinton Morrison, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, acknowledged the decision's difficulty: "It is a good finish by Svanberg, but I can understand why the Tunisian players will be disappointed because when you look at it, it didn't look like there was a touch. It must have been the slightest touch off the outside of his right boot. Credit to VAR, credit to the referee. They got it spot on."

Previous uses in football

This is not the first time the technology has influenced a major tournament. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Snicko confirmed that Bruno Fernandes had scored Portugal's opening goal in a 2-0 win over Uruguay — not Cristiano Ronaldo, who had celebrated as though he headed the ball in. The sensors proved he never touched it.

At Euro 2024, the same technology disallowed a Belgium equaliser against Slovakia. Romelu Lukaku had initially been awarded the goal, but a Snicko review revealed that teammate Lois Openda had handled the ball in the build-up.

Snicko's cricket origins

Cricket's Snickometer was invented by English computer scientist Allan Plaskett in the mid-1990s to determine whether a batter has edged the ball. It uses frame-by-frame video replays alongside a waveform to show contact between bat and ball, operating at 340 frames per second.

The system is no longer used in Tests in England, where the more advanced UltraEdge has taken over, though it remains in use in Australia and New Zealand. Its profile in cricket has been complicated recently — during the 2025-26 Ashes series, Australian batter Alex Carey was given not out in the third Test due to what officials described as "human error" by Snicko's operators. Carey, who was on 72 at the time, went on to score 106 in the first innings in Adelaide.

As football's version of the technology continues to evolve, its role in deciding critical moments at major tournaments looks set to grow.