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Luis Suarez refused to apologise to Ghanaians, claiming that it was not his fault that Ghana failed to defeat Uruguay in South Africa because he did not miss the penalty awarded after his handball.
The two teams will meet for the second time on Friday, with Ghanaians seeking revenge for the controversial defeat in Johannesburg 12 years ago.
Ghana lost on penalties after a drama-filled end to the extra time in the quarter final of the 2010 World Cup. Suarez deliberately blocked a goal-bound header by Dominic Adiyiah that with his hand on the goal line.
Ghana were awarded a penalty, which Asamoah Gyan failed to convert, and then the Black Stars lost in the penalty shootout to exit the tournament.
Photos of Suarez celebrating after the game continue to irritate Ghanaians, who believe Suarez owes them an apology.
“The first time, I don’t apologise about that. I take the handball – but the Ghana player miss a penalty, not me. Maybe I apologise if I injure a player but in this situation, I take a red card, the ref say penalty, it’s not my fault,” Suarez said on Thursday ahead of the Group H clash at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar.
A win for Ghana over Uruguay will confirm their place in the last 16 while Uruguay must beat Ghana and hope for a positive result in the other game between South Korea and Portugal to go through.
