Gyan: Luis Suárez is the most hated man in Ghana

Liverpool striker Luis Suárez is still “the most hated man in Ghana” after his deliberate handball for Uruguay in last summer’s World Cup quarter-final denied the African country victory, according to Sunderland forward Asamoah Gyan.

Suarez will face two of his opponents from that controversial night in Johannesburg when Kenny Dalglish’s side travel to the Stadium of Light on Sunday, with Steve Bruce able to call on both John Mensah and Gyan, the striker who became the ultimate victim of the Liverpool player’s gamesmanship.

After Suarez was dismissed for palming Dominic Adiyiah’s injury-time header off the line with the score level, it was Gyan who missed the subsequent penalty and the match went to a shoot-out which sent Uruguay through and ended Ghana’s dreams of becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals.

Suarez’s jubilation at the end of the game — even going so far as to insist that he had inherited the “Hand of God” from Diego Maradona — prompted fury across Africa.

While Gyan admits he would have done the same as Suarez had roles been reversed, he acknowledges that those fans left distraught by his act are not so forgiving.

“He is not popular in Ghana,” said Gyan.

“He is the most hated person in Ghana. I really am sorry to say it, because I am a good sportsman and I understand why he did it, but will the fans understand what happened? Not really, and for that he is the most hated person in Ghana.

“He is a hero now in his country, even if he is not in ours. I would have done the same thing that he did, honestly, if I was in the same position, because they needed to qualify. We did too, and you have to do what it takes.

“It was cheating, of course, because [such an act] does not exist in the rules, but as a sportsman I know it is one of those things that we know has to happen. He is a good player, a very good player, and what happened in the World Cup is past now.

“I will shake his hand, no problem. We were not happy, but it is one of those things. I will speak to him — he is not a friend of mine, but if he wants to speak to me, I will speak to him.”