Ghana’s all-time top scorer Asamoah Gyan has confessed he nearly punched Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez after the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The enigmatic Suarez stood between the Black Stars and a semifinal berth at the global showpiece with the former FC Barcelona striker handling a goal-bound effort from Dominic Adiyiah in the dying embers of a quarterfinal clash between Ghana and Uruguay.
Suarez’s handball led to a dismissal with Ghana handed a penalty; however the resulting penalty was missed by the usually efficient Asamoah Gyan, who had previously scored two spot-kicks in the tournament.
Gyan’s missed penalty in the twilight of extra-time proved a heavy blow as the Black Stars lost on penalty shootouts.
Since the incident, Suarez has been vilified and tagged ‘Public enemy No.1’ in Ghana and considering Ghana has been pitted in the same group with Uruguay at the 2022 World Cup, many Ghanaians have dubbed the clash a revenge match.
The aftermath of the 2010 incident has haunted Asamoah Gyan, who is Africa’s leading scorer at the World Cup, and recollecting the 12-year incident, Gyan disclosed he wanted to punch Suarez when the two met in an English Premier League game.
“To be honest, I wanted to punch him during my days at Sunderland. We (Sunderland) were playing a home game against Liverpool, so they came to exchange handshakes with us. To be frank, when he came close to me, I wanted to hit him because of the things people said to me but I decided to keep my cool”
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