Asamoah Gyan shows true colours over infamous Luis Suarez incident | Football | Sport

Former Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan forgives Luis Suarez for the goal-line handball which denied his team a spot in the World Cup semi-finals. Uruguay star Suarez was sent off for palming away a Dominic Adiyiah effort in the final minute of their quarter-final at the 2010 tournament but Gyan sent his penalty crashing against the crossbar. Uruguay went on to win on penalties to break Ghanaian hearts but Gyan doesn’t hold a grudge against his rival.

Gyan, who has played Premier League football for Sunderland and confirmed his retirement in 2023, was asked about the incident on Rio Ferdinand Presents. Rather than taking aim at Suarez, he empathised with his opponent.

“I always say I would have done the same if I was Suarez because he did it to save his country,” Gyan said. “Although the ball was going in, it was just a cheat code, but at the end of the day we had an opportunity and we didn’t convert it.

“It doesn’t happen most of the time. Sometimes it happens once in a blue moon. So I always say if I was Suarez seeing the ball going to the net at that crucial moment… he did it to save his country, you know. So I forgive him. I forgive him for that.”

Suarez was suspended following the handball, meaning he could play no part in the semi-final. Uruguay lost 3-2 to the Netherlands to miss out on a place in the final and lost to Germany in the third-place play-off by the same scoreline.

Ghana and Uruguay would end up meeting in the World Cup again in 2022. By that time, Gyan was no longer in the international picture but Suarez was still part of the Uruguay squad.

Once again, a Ghanaian penalty miss was the headline, with Andre Ayew seeing an effort saved by Sergio Rochet before Uruguay won the game through a Giorgian de Arrascaeta brace. However, thanks to South Korea beating Portugal in the other game in the group, both Ghana and Uruguay were eliminated.