Uruguay striker Luis Suarez claimed yesterday that his deliberate extra-time, last-minute handball, which denied Ghana a World Cup semi-final place, was this year’s version of the “Hand of God.”
Suarez was red-carded by Portuguese referee Olegario Benquerenca for the illegal goal-line clearance which kept out substitute Dominic Adiyah’s header but resulted in a Ghana penalty.
However, Asamoah Gyan then sent his penalty — the last kick of the game — crashing off the crossbar to give the Uruguayans a reprieve which they exploited by prevailing 4-2 in the shoot-out which followed.
PHOTO: AFP
“This was the end of the World Cup. I had no choice. I have the ‘Hand of God’ now,” Suarez said.
Diego Maradona famously credited a goal against England at the 1986 World Cup to the “Hand of God” after he scored with his hand.
“I did it so that my teammates could win the penalty shoot-out. When I saw Gyan miss the penalty it was a great joy,” added Suarez, who misses the semi-final.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez defended Suarez, whose handball allowed the South Americans to claim their first World Cup semi-final appearance since 1970.
Tabarez, whose side had battled from a goal down to draw 1-1 at the end of regulation time, said Suarez’s desperate act was a reflex action.
“It was instinctive, he instinctively put his hand out to the ball and was red-carded and will miss the next game,” Tabarez said. “He has paid for the consequences of his actions. He wasn’t to know that Ghana would miss the resulting penalty. It is not fair to say that we cheated our way to victory.”
Two-time champions Uruguay will now play the Netherlands in the semi-finals in Cape Town, South Africa, on Tuesday.
Man-of-the-match Diego Forlan, whose equalizing free kick kept Uruguay in the match, said: “It’s a pity [for Suarez that he will miss the semi], he made a good save today, we’ll try to do our best. He played his part. He didn’t score a goal, but he saved one and now we go to the semi-final.”
Tabarez said now that his team were in the semi-finals, where they face the Dutch, who knocked out Brazil earlier on Friday, they can be considered as one of the four best sides in the world.
“We didn’t play good football tonight but we fought very hard,” he said. “We are amongst the four best teams at this World Cup. This is something we would never have imagined before coming to South Africa. My players are very united. I don’t know how far we can go in the tournament. The Netherlands have some great players, but we cannot betray this group of players. If there is a glimmer of hope we must hang on. We will certainly not throw in the towel before playing that match.”
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