Midfielder Thomas Partey took time to meet Luis Suarez after the December 2, 2022 World Cup match between Ghana and Uruguay at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar.
Partey was on the losing side whiles Suarez captained the Uruguayan side to their first victory at the tournament having drawn with South Korea and lost to Portugal.
Partey was seen in a viral photo exchanging shirts with Suarez, the two are related by their association with Spanish club side Atletico Madrid.
Suarez joined in 2020 at the same time that the Ghanaian midfielder moved to England to join Arsenal.
The verdict on Twitter over the shirt swap was critique, with the word 'traitor' taking being prominent. Those angry at the move say Partey could have swapped the shirts away from public view.
But for others, it was no big deal for players to swap shirts once the game is over.
Ghana ended bottom of Group H with Portugal topping whiles South Korea finsihed second ahead of Uruguay on goal difference - both teams finished with four points apiece.
The Black Stars recorded three points from three games - losing to Portugal and Uruguay and beating South Korea. They scored five goals and conceded seven.
Coach Otto Addo has resigned his position in the post-match press conference.
See some reactions to the shirt swap below:
Traitor https://t.co/qLhs7Pm7IR
— Enna (@ennasteppnstone) December 2, 2022
Thomas Partey Pls Don’t Bring That Suarez Jersey To Ghana ???????? pic.twitter.com/LPuBfLHorP
— CAPTAIN PLANET 4X4 (@CAPTAINPLANETGH) December 2, 2022
Traitor!!! https://t.co/nGIrbkvUDZ
— Kwabena (@kobbysway) December 2, 2022
We always knew there was a traitor in our midst. https://t.co/zmAMVPsfec
— Kwame Bond 丹尼 (@Dan_Kay_) December 2, 2022
Unless he’s auctioning off that shirt to invest the money into fixing dumsɔr i don’t want to see this https://t.co/KHjdr2CozB
— mallow ʚїɞ ???????????????? (@getsugatenshho) December 2, 2022
Massa it's not anything bad https://t.co/hBFMNpH4MP
— Wife of Esq. SoSo&So ???????? (@rosenyonam18) December 2, 2022
You prefer Jersey to your ultimate platform ? Poor performance when Partey plays for Ghana ???????? but people won't let me talk . https://t.co/rWZskywDxp
— Like????????fiboo (@myfiboo) December 2, 2022
So that’s why he was playing for them. For a shirt? https://t.co/rXKcIkJbUt
— Cheryl (@cherylaaj) December 2, 2022
Lol. Ghana were so unserious in this game. You could tell from the beginning. And now swapping jerseys with this guy https://t.co/XChIpeSmkv
— Mo (@Mo_S10) December 2, 2022
They’re pals from Atletico https://t.co/C4E9hmV2nm
— ukawk (@Eii_Lob) December 2, 2022
Match Report: Uruguay vs. Ghana
The Black Stars of Ghana had one task going into their final Group H fixture at the 2022 World Cup.
Win at all costs, worse case draw against Uruguay and secure passage into the Round-of-16 stage of the competition.
The match was, however, settled with three major incidents in the first half. A penalty miss by Black Stars skipper Andre Dede Ayew, when the score was goalless.
Then Giorgian de Arrascaeta's two goals for Uruguay which came in quick sucession, consigned the Black Stars to a second World Cup defeat against the South Americans who broke hearts of Africans in 2010.
Their 2 - 0 victory over the Black Stars was, however, not enough to get them through to the next round of the tournament as South Korea beat Portugal 2-1.
With Uruguay in dire need of a third goal to progress to the next round of the World Cup, Suarez was reduced to tears as efforts to score another goal proved futile.
Portugal and South Korea advanced from Group H as Uruguay and Ghana exited the tournament after finished 3rd and 4th respectively.
SARA
