DOHA, Qatar — Ghana and Uruguay meet at the World Cup on Friday in a repeat of one of the tournament’s most contentious games, and Luis Suarez still isn’t apologizing for his central role in the controversy 12 years ago.
Uruguay striker Suarez’s deliberate handball on the goal-line at the end of extra time in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa denied Ghana a certain goal and a place in history as the first African team to reach the semis. Suarez was sent off for the handball but celebrated wildly on the sidelines when Asamoah Gyan hit the penalty off the crossbar. Uruguay won the ensuing penalty shootout.
To make it worse, Suarez boasted after the 2010 game: “Truth is, it was worth it.”
On Thursday, he remained unrepentant.
“I don’t apologize because I take the handball and the red card but the Ghana player missed the penalty. It’s not my fault because I didn’t miss the penalty,” Suarez said.
Ghana can now go some way toward settling the score. By beating Uruguay in their final Group H match, Ghana would advance to the round of 16, while knocking Uruguay out of the tournament.
Though the match in Al Wakrah has been circled as one to watch ever since the World Cup draw was made, Ghana coach Otto Addo tried his best to cast it as a “normal game” despite 2010 remaining a raw and painful memory for many Ghanaians, who are demanding revenge for the handball.
