Friday’s World Cup match between Uruguay and Ghana is bringing back some old bitter feelings.
The last time the two teams played on this stage was in the 2010 quarterfinals, when Luis Suarez committed a handball in the box to save a goal that would have given Ghana the lead in the final minute of extra time. Instead, Ghana missed the ensuing penalty kick and Uruguay went on to win.
The saga was still fresh this week for a Ghanaian reporter who told Suarez he is “regarded as diablo — the devil — in Ghana and we want to retire you tomorrow.” But Suarez was not about to say he was sorry for the controversial move that ended up working out in Uruguay’s favor.
“I don’t apologize about that, I did the handball, but the Ghana player missed the penalty, not me,” Suarez said, per 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.
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“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.”
This time around, Uruguay needs a win to have a shot at getting out of Group H, which is currently led by Portugal with Ghana in second place. If Uruguay does not advance, the 35-year-old Suarez is expected to retire.
“I don’t know what people are saying about revenge,” he said. “The players playing tomorrow may have been, what eight years old back then [in 2010]? … You can’t just keep thinking about the past and revenge because that can be counterproductive.”
