Uruguay forward Luis Suarez has refused to apologise for his controversial handball against Ghana in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.
Suarez was sent off for handling Dominic Adiyiah's goal-bound strike in the final stages of extra-time; Ghana had the chance to win the match from the penalty spot, with the tie level at 1-1, but Asamoah Gyan missed the spot kick, and Uruguay won the resulting shootout.
The two nations are now preparing to lock horns once again in the last round of group matches at the 2022 competition, with both sides battling for a spot in the last 16.
Ghana would progress to the round of 16 with a win over Uruguay, while a draw would be enough if South Korea do not overcome Portugal.
Uruguay, meanwhile, will be out if they lose or draw, but a victory would see the South American nation advance, providing that South Korea do not beat Portugal.
Suarez, speaking at a press conference ahead of the match, said that he did not feel a need to apologise for the handball incident 12 years ago.
"I don't apologise about that, I did the handball, but the Ghana player missed the penalty, not me," Suarez told reporters.
"I could apologise if I injured a player with a tackle and got a red card, but in this situation I take a red card and the referee says penalty.
"It's not my fault, I didn't miss the penalty. The player who missed the penalty said he would do the same [as I did] in that situation. It's not my responsibility in this situation.
"I don't know what people are saying about revenge. The players playing tomorrow may have been, what eight years old back then [in 2010]?
"They are saying I am the devil and these things, but what I did with [Giorgio] Chiellini (biting incident at 2014 World Cup), I played against him afterwards, I made a mistake and we shook hands.
"You can't just keep thinking about the past and revenge because that can be counterproductive.
"We are facing challenging times. But this is our World Cup now. We'd love to be in a different situation, but we are Uruguayans and we are used to this struggle.
"We are good enough players to be in a different situation, but we can rise to the challenge against hardship.
"As footballers, we are used to making excuses, but all of our players are doing a good job in their clubs and we are here for our country, so let's stop making excuses."
Suarez, who has scored 68 goals in 136 caps for his country, is expected to retire from international football if Uruguay are eliminated on Friday. body check tags ::
