“Blame John Mensah, not Suarez or Asamoah Gyan for Ghana’s 2010 World Cup woes”- Kwesi Nyantakyi

Former Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi believes that if there had been a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the handball by Luiz Suarez would have been deemed a goal by officials.

Indeed, he claims that the assistant referee was going to the centerline until the then-captain of the Black Stars rushed to the center referee to flag a handball event against the Uruguayan striker.

According to the longest-serving GFA President, if John Mensah’s action had not occurred, Ghana would have advanced to the semi-finals and most likely won the World Cup. Most African football fans were heartbroken in 2010 when a last-minute Dominic Adiyiah goal-bound header was pushed out by Uruguay striker Suarez.

He was shown the red card by Portuguese referee Olegario Benquerenca, and Ghana was granted a penalty. However, after sending Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera the wrong way, Ghana attacker Asamoah Gyan hit the crossbar.

The vital quarter-final encounter ended 1-1 in regulation time, but the South Americans prevailed 4-2 on penalties.

Luiz was awarded by his country for its one-of-a-kind action.

Kwesi Nyantakyi remarked on Onua TV’s Maakye on Friday, January 7, that Ghana would have been given the goal if John Mensah had not gone to the referee and requested a handball infraction.

According to him, most football situations are overlooked by referees, but they use psychology and player emotions to call some of them.

As a result, he praised authorities from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA for including VAR in the forthcoming nation’s cup.

VAR will be used for the first time in Cameroon at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which begins on Sunday.

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