Luis Suarez has refused to apologise for his handball against Ghana in 2010, saying it’s not his fault they missed the penalty that followed.
One of the many controversial moments in Suarez’s career so far came in the quarter-final between Uruguay and Ghana at the 2010 World Cup.
Ghana had the chance to become the first African side ever to reach the final four of the tournament, and with that chance coming at the first edition ever hosted in Africa, they had the entire continent supporting them.
It looked as if the fairytale story would come true when, with the scores locked at 1-1 in the final minute of extra time, the ball was headed past Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, but Suarez was behind him and swatted the ball off the line with his hand.
He was sent off and Ghana had the chance to claim victory from the spot, but Asamoah Gyan fired his penalty against the bar. In the shoot-out that followed, Uruguay prevailed.
Suarez has been hated throughout Ghana since then and will come up against the team for the first time since that incident in the final Group H match of this year’s World Cup, with progression to the round of 16 on the line.
In the press conference ahead of the match, he discussed his handball and refused to apologise for it, saying it was Gyan’s fault the African side went out, not his.
“I don’t apologise about that,” he said.
“I take the handball – but the Ghana player misses a penalty, not me. Maybe I apologise if I injure a player but in this situation, I take a red card, the ref says penalty, it’s not my fault.
“I didn’t miss the penalty. It’s not my fault.”