Sport can be very cruel. On Friday night, Ghana lost out after the worst injustice this World Cup has seen (forget England's goal-that-wasn't).
With the score locked at 1-1 in the last minute of extra time, the only African side left in the competition launched one last attack. The ball was pumped into the penalty area, a Ghana header was cleared off the line, before the rebound was powered back toward the goal. Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan forward, raised his hands on the line and swatted the ball away from danger. The referee had no hesitation, sending him off and awarding the penalty.
Up stepped Asamoah Gyan to take a penalty that would surely make Ghana the first African side to make the semi-finals of the World Cup. But he smashed his effort against the bar.
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Then came penalties, and Uruguay held its nerve to win 4-2 and send Ghana home.
It was a cruel way for Ghana to lose. The better team for long periods of the game, they dominated extra time and crafted out a number of chances, the best of which saw Kevin-Prince Boateng heading just wide from close range as the clock ticked down.
The Africans had taken the lead in added time at the end of the first half with a wicked, curling drive from 30 yards out by Sulley Muntari. Uruguay struck back with a free kick from wide on the left, as Diego Forlan wrong-footed the keeper with a shot that swung into the right side of the net.
Ghana played with energy and pace, never giving Uruguay a moment to settle in attack or defense. Their quick passing and movement into space in the second period of extra time made light of the almost two hours of physical effort that had gone before. A winner seemed certain to come, and the penalty in the last minute was a just reward.
Did Suarez cheat, or was he simply using the rules to his advantage to stop a certain goal? Both. He should be banned for the rest of the tournament for his cynical act. On the World Stage, with millions watching, he has shown that cheats can prosper.
But blame should also be laid with FIFA, world soccer’s governing body. There is no "penalty goal" in football that can be awarded at the discretion of the referee, as in rugby there is a "penalty try" if a certain score is denied by foul play. FIFA has consistently refused to develop rules and technology to find ways to make the game fairer and to allow rule-breaking to receive a just punishment. Last week England lost out, this week Ghana.
"That’s football," you could say. But if football is about handballing your way to victory, that’s not the right message to be sending out to the millions of fans watching the most popular game in the world.
