Luis Suarez leaves the field in tears after being red carded for his handball offense. He thinks its all over. One moment of madness and Uruguay goes down in flames. But what could he have done- the ball was going into the goal and his head was nowhere near the ball? The hand, the hand!
Given the number of refereeing errors in this World Cup – a goal disallowed two yards behind the line, another “Hand of God” act had a good chance of succeeding. Maradona had done so, Thierry Henry had done so.
Halfway though to the tunnel he expects the roar of the crowd, instead there is stunned silence – he turns around and looks back and finds Muslera blowing air kisses at the upright. He realizes Asamoah Gyan missed his penalty. In joy, he runs back to the field, hugs everyone, and is ushered out.
In retrospect, Suarez actually sacrificed himself so that Uruguay could go forward. This is not part of the highlights. That is the copy and paste part. Uruguay was given a lifeline in a moment of madness. Football is moments like this.