Ghana forward Andre Ayew has recalled how Luis Suarez’s infamous handball at the 2010 FIFA World Cup denied the Black Stars and, in his view, the entire African continent a chance to reach the semi-finals.

Ayew made the remarks on the Obi One Podcast, released on Monday, while reflecting on Ghana’s heartbreaking quarter-final elimination at the tournament in South Africa.

“And Luis Suarez handling that ball killed a lot of hopes, not just from Ghana, but the whole continent,” he said.

Ghana were on the verge of becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals when they faced Uruguay in Johannesburg on July 2, 2010.

Ayew said the Ghanaian players had been confident of defeating Uruguay and advancing further in the competition, with the prospect of facing the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

“How are we not going to beat Uruguay? It was not in our heads, to be honest. We were like, as soon as we beat Uruguay, we’re going to face Holland,” he recalled.

“If we get to the semi-finals, we’re going to the finals. There was this belief that having the whole of South Africa behind us.”

The match was tied at 1-1 after extra time when Uruguay striker Suarez deliberately handled Dominic Adiyiah’s goal-bound header on the goal line in the closing moments.

Suarez was sent off, and Ghana were awarded a penalty, but Asamoah Gyan struck the crossbar with his effort, forcing the match into a shootout that Uruguay won 4-2.

Ayew, who was in the stands during the match, said he was furious when Suarez handled the ball, recalling his reaction as a teenager.

“I was in the stands, and I was like, ‘I’m young, 19 or 20; everything is just flying up.’ What’s going on? He’s an idiot; he’s this, he’s that,” he said.

However, Ayew said Ghana’s players did not blame Gyan for missing the decisive penalty, recognising the striker’s contribution to their World Cup campaign.

“The players were not angry at the situation of Baby Jet or whatever. We were more like, if you were not there, we wouldn’t get here,” Ayew said, referring to Gyan by his nickname.

He described Gyan as Ghana’s designated penalty taker and praised his performances throughout the tournament, adding that he still occasionally watches the match but avoids revisiting the penalty shootout.

The incident resurfaced ahead of Ghana’s group-stage meeting with Uruguay at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Speaking before that match on December 2, Suarez refused to apologise for the handball, arguing that he had been sent off for the offence and that Gyan had missed the resulting penalty.

“I don’t apologise for it. I apologise if I injure a player, but I took a red card for the handball,” Suarez said.

“It wasn’t my fault because I didn’t miss the penalty.”