Gyan says Ghana is still angry about Suarez's dastardly handball

‘People in Ghana still see him as a cheat… they HATE him’: Black Stars are still angry about Luis Suarez’s dastardly handball that sent them crashing out of the 2010 World Cup, as they bid for revenge on Friday

• Ghana have chance for revenge after their dramatic 2010 quarter-final defeat
• Suarez punched a header off the line to deny Ghana an extra-time winner 
• Ghan missed the resulting spot kick and Uruguay eventually won on penalties

Time has not been much of a healer for Asamoah Gyan. Most of his fellow Ghanaians share his pain as they prepare for a reunion with Luis Suarez and Uruguay in a repeat of one of the World Cup’s most infamous games.

‘Back home, everybody who watched the game, they dislike Suarez,’ Gyan says. ‘He is a hero in Uruguay although people in Ghana see him as a cheat. People do hate him.’

All the painful memories of 12 years ago have come flooding back for Gyan and Ghana since they were handed another crunch World Cup meeting with Uruguay.

All the painful memories of 12 years ago in South Africa have come flooding back for Ghana

On Friday, the Africans take on the South Americans knowing a draw should be enough to take them through at their rivals’ expense. It is a chance for revenge after their dramatic 2010 quarter-final in South Africa was eventually won on penalties by La Celeste.

Gyan had agonisingly crashed the last kick of extra-time against the bar from the penalty spot after Suarez once again displayed the lengths he is willing to go to win by punching a header off the line, volleyball style, to deny Ghana a last-gasp goal and a historic place in the semi-finals.

Suarez was duly sent off. But his joyous celebrations at Gyan’s miss as he waited to head down the tunnel compounded Ghana’s misery. The handball left a bitter taste for a heartbroken Gyan — and nation — and placed Suarez firmly in the role of public enemy No 1.

Luis Suarez punched a header off the line, volleyball style, to deny Ghana a last-gasp goal

A remorseless Suarez once said of the incident: ‘I took a risk in a situation… I have been blamed for anti-fair play. However, the Ghana player missing the penalty is not my fault.

‘I didn’t kick anyone or anything like that. That’s why I celebrated like that, for having taken a risk for something that was worth it. I remember I celebrated it more than a goal.’

For all he achieved in his career, Africa’s record World Cup goal-scorer Gyan will forever be haunted by the chance he missed when handed the opportunity to make Ghana the continent’s first semi-finalists.

Suarez was duly sent off for handball but Gyan missed the resulting spot kick

When working on the Africa Cup of Nations as a pundit, one TV host bravely deemed it a subject safe to bring up in jest. In LeGyanDary, his autobiography released this year, he felt he had no choice other than to address it head on.

‘The penalty miss will continue to be a strong dent in my career as far as every football-loving Ghanaian is concerned,’ Gyan admitted in the section dedicated to the incident.

‘I understand how much pain remains in the hearts of Ghanaians and Africans alike. I missed that penalty and I carry the guilt and pain of that miss. The trauma still remains as clear as daylight. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and remember events from that day and my heart loses its joy.

‘I feel I let down myself and the country and it is a daily struggle to keep it out of mind. I wish God would take me back to that spot a second time so I could change time but those are just wishes that will never come to pass.’

One consolation was that Gyan’s resolve to step up and score Ghana’s first shootout spot-kick in Johannesburg impressed then Sunderland boss Steve Bruce so much it persuaded him to sign the striker following the tournament. And now, Gyan, 37, is at least able to look back and understand Suarez’s actions.

‘If I was Suarez I would have done the same to save my country,’ he told talkSPORT.

Understandably, much of the focus tomorrow will be on Suarez. Diego Forlan, scorer of the Uruguay equaliser against Ghana that forced extra time that day, tells Sportsmail: ‘People like to criticise. He makes mistakes like everybody. He is a nice guy and very professional.

Suarez celebrates after Uruguay eventually won the quarter-final tie on penalties in 2010

‘I don’t know why everybody says he cheated. There are rules. He touched the ball with his hand, that’s true, he was penalised, sent off and Ghana had the chance to score a penalty. Once you play football you know and respect the rules so no complaints after. When they had that penalty, I thought that was the end.’

But Gyan’s miss meant more penalties. Somehow there was a moment of light relief amid the high-stakes conclusion and nerve-shredding tension when Uruguay’s back-up goalkeeper Juan Castillo passed out.

‘The game finished and we were gathering everybody to see who was going to shoot when I saw the third goalkeeper on the floor,’ Forlan laughs. ‘It was a funny moment but we needed to focus on the penalties. It was very tense.’

Few would have predicted Uruguay striker Sebastian Abreu would have the audacity to win the shootout and break Ghana’s hearts one final time with an ice-cool Panenka penalty. But Suarez is the reason revenge is on Ghanaian minds.

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