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Muntari holds no Suarez grudge

Image: Muntari: Ready to move on

Sulley Muntari insists he has no problem with Luis Suarez despite his handball in the World Cup.

World Cup nemesis set to face Black Cats midfielder

Sunderland midfielder Sulley Muntari insists he has no problem with Luis Suarez despite his handball in the World Cup. Muntari was part of a Ghana side who suffered a heart-breaking exit from the tournament at the hands of Uruguay, with Suarez playing a pivotal role with a handball on the goalline to deny a late winner. Fellow Sunderland player Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty as Suarez was sent off, with the African nation then crashing out in the penalty shootout that followed. Sunderland are set to face Liverpool on Sunday at the Stadium of Light, giving Muntari the chance to come face-to-face with the man who played a large part in destroying his World Cup dream. Asked if he would shake the striker's hand, Muntari said: "Yes, of course. Why not? He is a fantastic player. "If it was me on the post, that's what I am going to do. I am not going to get it with one hand, I am going to get it with two hands and then I am going to go out and make way for Ghana. "Definitely, I am going to shake his hand. It's part of football. Personally, I have no bad intention towards him, I haven't any grudge against him. "What about if I was the one who got the ball and he didn't win? Am I going to be his enemy? "It's part of football. But I am not going to be playing against only Suarez, it is going to be Sunderland against Liverpool and we want to win the game, so we have got to make it bad for them here."

Forgiving

Understandably Gyan, the man who missed the decisive penalty, still holds strong feelings about that night. Despite the painful blow of seeing his spot-kick hit the bar, Gyan insists he too is ready to move on and has no problem with Suarez. "Every time I see him I just remember what happened at the World Cup. But life goes on," he said. "I am a good sportsman. People ask me if I am going to shake his hand when he comes to the Stadium of Light, and I say, 'why not?' "It's football. I wish him well and he is doing well. He is a young lad who is coming up. "He did what he should have done at the World Cup. He took his country to the semi-finals. Life goes on."

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