Andre Ayew, Ghana's senior national team captain, has said that despite Luis Suarez's handball eliminating Ghana's chances of progressing further in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he would have done the same if he had been in those circumstances.
After stopping Dominic Adiyiah's goalbound header with his hand in the closing embers of Ghana's quarterfinal match against Uruguay in South Africa at the global extravaganza, Suarez became a public adversary for the majority of Ghanaians and Africans as a whole.
Despite the fact that the Black Stars were given a penalty for the forward's actions, the subsequent advantage was not taken advantage of, and Ghana went on to lose the game on penalties, while Uruguay advanced to the semifinal round.
In an exclusive interview with JoySports' Gary Al-Smith Ayew, a member of Ghana's 2010 World Cup squad, stated he would have responded similarly if the situation had occurred on the opposite end.
When asked about Suarez's behaviour, the Al Sadd forward stated, "Like I said before and I said in the past, maybe if it was me or someone else, I could have done the same."
"It's true that he murdered us, that he destroyed our dream, that he killed the dream of Africans, and we all have the sensation that he didn't make us the first [African] country to reach the quarterfinals, so it will always be there."
"However, he did it for his country; he made a decision, but we don't."