Did the ball hit his thigh or his hand?
Many have already added Raul Ruidiaz's name to those of Diego Maradona and Thierry Henry in the list of infamous hand ball goals after his strike knocked Brazil out of the 2016 Copa America Centenario on Sunday night. But Ruidiaz himself isn't having any of it.
"First I’m happy for the next step we made [into the quarterfinals], I think we chased it [the result] all game," he said in an on-field postgame flash interview. "On the goal it was a quick play, no? It hit me in the thigh. I don’t understand why there’s a debate about a hand ball."
Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha and his crew agreed with Ruidiaz because they let the goal stand. And Peru made it count, holding on for the 1-0 win and the top spot in Group C at the expense of one of the tournament favorites. Peru move on to face Colombia on Friday, June 17 (8 pm ET on FS1, UniMas and UDN).
