It’s been 12 years since Luis Suarez’s infamous handball crushed Ghana’s World Cup aspirations, but even with more than a decade in between, the Uruguayan striker seemingly has no remorse.
Ghana and Uruguay will meet for the first time since the controversial quarterfinal match on Friday morning in the final Group H match.
Luis Suarez of Uruguay reacts during the Uruguay Press Conference at the Main Media Center on December 1, 2022, in Doha, Qatar.
(Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
A win for the West African nation would knock Uruguay out – some might call the defeat sweet revenge, but Suarez certainly isn’t looking at the match from that perspective.
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“I don’t apologize about that. I did the handball, but the Ghana player missed the penalty, not me,” Suarez said at a news conference, via ESPN.
“I could apologize if I injured a player with a tackle and got a red card, but in this situation I take a red card, and the referee says penalty. It’s not my fault, I didn’t miss the penalty. The player who missed the penalty said he would do the same [as I did] in that situation. It’s not my responsibility in this situation.”
Luis Suarez of Uruguay handles the ball on the goal line, for which he is sent off, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Quarter Final match between Uruguay and Ghana at the Soccer City stadium on July 2, 2010, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The controversial play came in the final moments of extra time of the 2010 World Cup quarterfinals. The 35-year-old striker had deliberately used his hands to block the would-be goal.
He was given a red-card and sent off the pitch, but Asamoah Gyan, the former captain of Ghana’s national team, would miss the penalty kick. Ghana ultimately lost to Uruguay in a penalty shootout.
Luis Suarez of Uruguay is sent off by Referee Olegario Benquerenca after handling the ball on the goal line during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Quarter Final match between Uruguay and Ghana at the Soccer City stadium on July 2, 2010, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
(Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Suarez called talk of revenge “counterproductive,” adding that those on Ghana’s national team now may have been “eight years old back then.”
Friday’s match kicks off at 10 a.m. E.T. on FOX Sports. A win for Ghana would move them ahead to the round of 16, while knocking Uruguay out of the tournament.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
