'I didn't miss the penalty': Suarez won't apologise for infamous handball in 2010 vs Ghana

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is set to feature a blockbuster clash on November 2 as South American giants Uruguay are all set to take on Ghana, a fixture that resulted in massive controversy when the two sides met the last time. Star Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez was at the centre of the controversy when the two teams met in the 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup as he was sent off for an intentional handball in the final minute of added time that denied Ghana a place in the semi-finals.

With Ghana missing the resulting penalty that would have won them the game by a scoreline of 2-1, Uruguay went on to register a 4-2 win on penalties to book a semi-final clash against the Netherlands. 12 years on, Suarez was reminded of the incident during a presser when he refused to apologize for the same, stating that he was not at fault as Ghana missed the penalty.

Luis Suarez refuses to apologise for infamous handball

When told by a Ghanaian journalist at a news conference on November 1 that he is regarded as diablo (the devil) in Ghana, Luis Suarez responded by stating, "I don't apologise about that. I did the handball, but the Ghana player missed the penalty, not me. I could apologise if I injured a player with a tackle and got a red card, but in this situation, I took a red card and the referee said penalty."

He went on to explain his point by adding, "It's not my fault as 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." Asamoah Gyan was the player who missed the penalty in the dying seconds of the game.

Suarez is no stranger to controversies as his career has been marred by various infamous incidents. While playing for Liverpool, the 35-year-old received an eight-match ban after he racially abused Patrice Evra. And that is not it, as he also received bans on two separate occasions when he bit opponents during his time at Ajax and for the national side. The most shocking incident took place at the 2014 edition of the FIFA World Cup when Suarez was banned for four months for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini.