Ahead of Friday's decisive encounter between Ghana and Uruguay, fans have absolved Luis Suarez for an incident that got the Black Stars eliminated in the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals.
Ghana, second in their group in 2022, need a positive outcome against Uruguay in order to book a place in the round of 16.
Before the last group match between the World Cup rivals, fans have been drawn into a debate on the 2010 incident, especially after Suarez said he will not apologise.
The Uruguayan stopped the goal-bound ball back in 2010 (struck by Dominic Adiyiah) with the use of his hands. However, Asamoah Gyan failed to successfully convert the resultant penalty, which came off the bar and flew over.
After Ghana failed to take advantage of the awarded penalty, Suarez celebrated as he headed into the tunnel since he was red-carded for the incident.
The Black Stars were later eliminated in post-match penalties, and now many fans have stated the Ghanaians should not blame Saurez for the loss.
To some, the forward was just being patriotic, as his infamous intervention saved his country from elimination.
Why should he apologize for an action he was penalized (red card) and a 75% goal chance was given to the opposition team?
Do players apologize for a foul that result to a red card? Blame Gyan, who didn't score, not Suarez, who sacrificed for his country. - @jeffwayne77
No one was robbed in that match, everything happened as it should’ve. He [Suarez] got a red, Ghana got a penalty, it’s not Suarez’s fault they missed it, and the fact that he was even asked to apologize is so questionable.
Just getting pathetic at this point. - @tsnmijaur
For years, people have been making it sound like an injustice. Suarez sacrificed himself to save his team and got sent off for it plus penalty given.
Gyan missed the penalty, and Uruguay won in the shootout. Painting Suarez as anything other than a hero for his country makes zero sense. - @The__Katch
Suarez got a red card, and Ghana got their penalty, which they missed. There should be no fuss about that incident again. - @rvphs
Fouls are part of the game so how can it be considered cheating? What Suarez did was ugly, but it’s not cheating. It’s similar to when [Ole Gunnar] Solksjaer got a red card for hacking down a Newcastle player through on goal. Is what Solksjaer did considered cheating? No. So why is this? - @zainali_4
Agreed. Suarez was just helping his country. If the roles were reversed, Ghanaians would have been celebrating. - @memethiefhere
Ghana were my dark horses thought they’d do really well, but can’t even get into it with [Thomas] Partey on that team. Hope Suarez puts them out again. - @jabbalochhead
He changed a 100% situation into a 50:50 situation, he's wrong here. Yes, Gyan missed the penalty, but Suarez is also to be blamed. - @izake_tetteh
Somebody should ask Suarez where he was going before he deliberately handled the ball. Yes, a penalty was given, but note that a penalty is a 50/50 affair, so all in all, we will blame you, Suarez, whether you like it or not. - @KwasiDeuces
I don't know why some Ghanaians are still mad at him. Suarez saved his country. Dude was just patriotic. - @sir_oseikwame
Focus, focus, and focus again. Let's just go into the game with the mindset of getting the win. Nothing like revenge! We're playing to win! - @snrcarterblock
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