Luis Suarez refuses to apologize for infamous handball

Uruguay star Luis Suarez has refused to apologize for his handball incident at the 2010 World Cup. The striker blatantly blocked a goal-bound ball with his arms in the final stages of a quarterfinal matchup against Ghana. Suarez was sent off for the deliberate handball incident.

However, Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty that would have taken Ghana into the semifinals. The 2010 game eventually went to penalty kicks, which Uruguay topped the African team, 4-2.

The two nations are meeting again in the World Cup on Friday. Ahead of the match, a Ghanaian journalist told Suarez that people inside the African country refer to the striker as the devil and look forward to his retirement from soccer. Suarez, however, refused to apologize for the incident which took place a dozen years ago.

“I don’t apologize about that, I did the handball, but the Ghana player missed the penalty, not me,” claimed Suarez at the news conference. “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 striker continued. “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 dismisses Ghanaian revenge due to handball

Suarez also seemed to be confused about talks of revenge for the Ghana team. “I don’t know what people are saying about revenge,” added Suarez. “The players playing tomorrow may have been, what eight years old back then [in 2010]?”

Uruguay need to beat Ghana on Friday to have any chance of advancing to the knockout round. The South Americans are currently bottom of Group H with just one point. Ghana, on the other hand, could qualify for the next phase with a draw. This, however, depends on how South Korea fare against Portugal. A Ghanaian victory would surely book their tickets to the knockout round.

PHOTO: IMAGO / HochZwei/Sportida