Suarez: Conscience clear over handball
442 Staff - Saturday 03 July 2010, 11:41
JOHANNESBURG -
Uruguay's Luis Suarez said
his conscience was clear after being dismissed for a handball
that denied Ghana a last-gasp winner in their World Cup
quarter-final on Friday.
Ghana's Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent penalty to leave
the match deadlocked at 1-1 after extra time and Uruguay went on
to seal a place in the last four through a penalty shootout.
"It was worth being sent off in
this way for because at that
moment there was no other choice," Suarez told reporters. "I'm
very calm."
His dismissal
for the goalmouth block means he will miss the
semi-final against the Netherlands and break up a strike
partnership with Diego Forlan that has produced six goals in the
tournament so far.
Uruguay
coach Oscar Tabarez rejected assertions that his team
had won by cheating.
"Yes,
he stuck his hand out but is that cheating?" he asked.
"I think it was instinctive. He was thrown out (of the game), he
can't play the next match. There are consequences."
"When he handled, he didn't know
Ghana would miss the
penalty. Is Suarez to blame for Ghana missing the penalty in the
shoot-out?"
Forlan was named
Man of the Match after an indefatigable
performance up front, highlighted by his third goal of the
tournament - a beautiful equaliser from a free-kick 10 minutes
into the second half.
He
said Suarez had saved the day for the South Americans.
"We knew it was going to be
difficult. The way it finished
was incredible," Forlan told a post-match news conference.
"It was a pity Suarez was sent
off. Instead of scoring, he
saved one, he saved the game."
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