I would have done exactly the same thing in Luis Suarez’s position.

THE biggest talking point in football this week has been the Luis Suarez handball for Uruguay in their quarter-final with Ghana.

And make no mistake: I would have done exactly the same thing all day long.

I’ve heard a lot of people saying that he has cheated and disrespected the game, but the rules are the rules and in that situation he decided his actions were worth the punishment. He had no choice.

Ghana got a double whammy – they got the man advantage and won a penalty. The fact that it was in the last minute of the game meant that the extra man was not worth much, but those are the rules.

Ghana didn’t put the penalty away, and that’s the reason they are not in the semi-final. Suarez was just doing his job, which is protecting his goal however he could.

If I was in that situation, I would have done exactly the same and I would have expected the same punishment.

Having said that, I think Uruguay’s win on penalties may be the high point of the tournament for them, because I still think Spain are beginning to look good. They’ve not hit top gear, but they showed they could handle the Germans because they give the ball away so little.

Germany have been the standout team in the tournament so far, because they have been playing with such freedom, and without fear. They get a raw deal sometimes because of the stereotype, but they have made everyone sit up and take notice and won themselves plenty of new fans all over the world.

They attack in such numbers and are so quick on the break, but I had a feeling that Spain would hit their stride against a team like Germany. They had struggled a little before that but had still reached the semi-finals, and from there, anything can happen.