Kolkata, India: Uruguyan star striker Diego Forlan Saturday defended his teammate Luis Alberto Suarez's handling the ball on the goal line during extra time of the quarter-final match against Ghana, saying it had saved the day for Uruguay and carried them to the World Cup semi final.
"In football you always try to save goals. They had a chance to score. He was on the line and saved it by getting the ball away with his hand. Football has its rules. And as per rules he was red-carded. But he saved the game for us, and we qualified for the semi-final. We are happy for him," Forlan, the golden ball winner as the best player of the World Cup, told media persons here.
By handling the ball on the line in the last minute of extra-time, Suarez prevented a Ghanaian goal that would have led to the Africans winning the game and entering the last four.
The Uruguayan was given marching orders and Ghana awarded a penalty. However, the spot kick was missed by Asamoah Gyan and Uruguay went on to win 4-2 in the shootout and progressed to the semi-final.
On his free kick hitting the post in the play-off against Germany, Forlan said he had aimed to keep the ball just below as the Germans were tall. "But when I took the shot I saw the ball hit the post and go away. And that was it. And that's a part of the game".
About his difficult days with Manchester United between 2002 and 2004, Forlan said, "It was a big difference going from Argentina to England."
"I had all the best players as teammates. It was tough," he said.
