Ghana captain Andre Ayew sides with Asamoah Gyan on Suarez incident at 2010 World Cup

Ghana skipper Andre Ayew says he could have acted in a similar manner as Luis Suarez when the Uruguay striker kept out a goal-bound header with his hands to deny the Black Stars a spot in the semi-final at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

His comments follow similar remarks by legendary Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan, who was at the heart of events as Ghana bowed out of the global showpiece in the quarter-final fixture in Johannesburg.

Talks about the famous incident have been revived after the two nations have been pitted together in the same group for the 2022 World Cup later in Qatar this year.

“Like I said before in the past, maybe if it was me or someone else, I could have done the same action [as Suarez],” Al-Sadd winger Ayew told Joy Sports.

“It’s true he killed us, he killed our dream, he killed Africans’ dream, and we all have that feeling that he didn’t make us the first [African] country to get to the semi-finals, so that will always be there.

“But he did it for his nation, he took a decision but we don’t [have to] look at that. We want to play well and try and succeed [in Qatar].”

In the clash at Soccer City Stadium, Ghana found a last-gasp opportunity to score the winner in extra time when Dominic Adiyiah headed on target, but Suarez produced a goal-line clearance with his hands, copping a red card and winning Ghana a penalty, which Gyan spurned.

In the ensuing penalty shoot-out, there was even more heartbreak for Ghana as they lost on a 4-2 score, making former Liverpool man Suarez a national hero back home.

Ex-Sunderland striker Gyan spoke on the incident on Monday, saying: “I remember a game between Sunderland and Liverpool [when I was playing in the Premier League]. We were playing at home on that day and all players were shaking hands.

“I wanted to hit him [Suarez] because people had said things that stuck in my mind.

“I was naïve at that time but when I thought about it later, I realized that I had to let it go because I would have done the same thing if I was in his position.”

Ghana and Uruguay will lock horns on December 2 in what will be their first meeting after the 2010 incident.