[size=7]Suarez - My Hand of God[/size]
Striker says he had no choice but to block Adiyiah's header
Luis Suarez says he now has the 'Hand of God' after his controversial handball helped Uruguay reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Ajax striker Suarez's deliberate handball on the goal-line in the final minute of extra-time prevented Dominic Adiyiah's header from sending Ghana through to the last four.
Suarez was sent off for his action and then danced with glee on the sidelines when Asamoah Gyan smacked the resultant penalty against the crossbar.
Uruguay went on to prevail 4-2 in the shoot-out to set up a semi-final clash with Holland and Suarez's handball drew comparisons to Diego Maradona's infamous goal against England at the 1986 finals.
Prolific front-man Suarez is now claiming the 'Hand of God' mantle for himself and insists he had no choice but to block Adiyiah's header.
"This was the end of the World Cup. I had no choice. I have the 'Hand of God' now," said Suarez.
"I did it so that my team-mates could win the penalty shoot-out. When I saw Gyan miss the penalty it was a great joy."
[size=7]Instinctive[/size]
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez believes it would be wrong to accuse his team of cheating and insists Suarez was properly punished for the incident.
Tabarez said: "When there is a handball in the penalty area there is a red card and the player is thrown out of the game.
"Saying we cheated Ghana is too harsh a word to use. We also abide by what the referee did. It could have been a mistake. Yes he stuck his hand out, but it's not cheating. I don't think it's fair to say that.
"I think it was instinctive. The player instinctively reacted and was thrown out of the match and he can't play the next match. What else do you want?
"Is Suarez also to blame for Ghana missing the penalty? We try to be dignified and if we lose a match we look for the reasons for it. You shouldn't look to third parties.
"This is football. There are consequences to that handball and he didn't know that Ghana was going to miss that penalty."
Sky Sports