Today, the English Football Association found Luis Suarez guilty of racist language towards Patrice Evra and, consequently, suspended him for eight matches and fined him £40,000. A few hours later, Liverpool FC released the following statement:
Liverpool Football Club is very surprised and disappointed with the decision of the Football Association Commission to find Luis Suarez guilty of the charges against him.
We look forward to the publication of the Commission’s Judgment. We will study the detailed reasons of the Commission once they become available, but reserve our right to appeal or take any other course of action we feel appropriate with regards to this situation.
We find it extraordinary that Luis can be found guilty on the word of Patrice Evra alone when no-one else on the field of play – including Evra’s own Manchester United teammates and all the match officials – heard the alleged conversation between the two players in a crowded Kop goalmouth while a corner kick was about to be taken.
The Club takes extremely seriously the fight against all forms of discrimination and has a long and successful track record in work relating to anti-racist activity and social inclusion. We remain committed to this ideal and equality for all, irrespective of a person’s background.
LFC considers racism in any form to be unacceptable – without compromise. It is our strong held belief, having gone over the facts of the case, that Luis Suarez did not commit any racist act. It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible – certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations.
It is key to note that Patrice Evra himself in his written statement in this case said ‘I don’t think that Luis Suarez is racist’. The FA in their opening remarks accepted that Luis Suarez was not racist.
Luis himself is of a mixed race family background as his grandfather was black. He has been personally involved since the 2010 World Cup in a charitable project which uses sport to encourage solidarity amongst people of different backgrounds with the central theme that the colour of a person’s skin does not matter; they can all play together as a team.
He has played with black players and mixed with their families whilst with the Uruguay national side and was Captain at Ajax Amsterdam of a team with a proud multi-cultural profile, many of whom became good friends.
It seems incredible to us that a player of mixed heritage should be accused and found guilty in the way he has based on the evidence presented. We do not recognise the way in which Luis Suarez has been characterised.
It appears to us that the FA were determined to bring charges against Luis Suarez, even before interviewing him at the beginning of November. Nothing we have heard in the course of the hearing has changed our view that Luis Suarez is innocent of the charges brought against him and we will provide Luis with whatever support he now needs to clear his name.
We would also like to know when the FA intend to charge Patrice Evra with making abusive remarks to an opponent after he admitted himself in his evidence to insulting Luis Suarez in Spanish in the most objectionable of terms. Luis, to his credit, actually told the FA he had not heard the insult.
It is obvious that Liverpool FC is going to appeal this judgement as the club believes that Luis Suarez is (1) not a racist and (2) didn’t use any racist language against Patrice Evra during the match as no one, apart from Evra, heard anything.
Personally, I know, from my limited time as a particularly bad amateur defender, that players tend to insult each other all day long. And, of course, football being a contact sport, players tend to hurt each other all day long too. And, let’s face it, both Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra are not really known for their self-restraint as they are both world-class competitors.
I don’t really know what to think about the whole thing. On one hand, I don’t like Patrice Evra. Not because of his Manchester United heritage but more because of his antics during the last World Cup where I found him pathetic. On the other hand, being a racist or using racist language (which are completely different) are both bad.
Interestingly, I’ve found out that Patrice Evra worked well at school in Paris and is well educated as his dad was a diplomat. On the other hand, Luis Suarez comes from a poor background and his parents separated when he was a kid. He couldn’t afford football boots and played on the streets in Montevideo.
Merry Christmas from FA.
:-)
Ferguson said : “Our support of Patrice was obvious right from the word go and that’s still the same. The matter is over and I think we’re satisfied that they [the FA’s independent commission] found the right decision. This wasn’t about Manchester United and Liverpool at all. It was nothing to do with that. This was an individual situation where one person was racially abused.”
Liverpool maintain that was not the case, despite Suárez reportedly admitting using the word “negro”, and are now waiting for the commission chairman, Paul Goulding QC, to deliver his full written findings before deciding whether to lodge an appeal.
Dalglish: “The statement couldn’t have caused anybody any trouble. I don’t think the players have caused any trouble with the FA either with their statement or by their support with the T-shirts. If we are not in any trouble, we will just leave it at that before we do get into any trouble.”
I think it’s straight forward… the team should ban the player for life!
Except that no one ever used the word you mention…
Yep your right.. he used ‘negrito’ instead
oops.. you are right
Negro or Negrito or whatever…
Racism and racist terms are odious, totally disgusting and has no place in any society. I don’t think there would be anything spoken that could be more disgusting than racism or racist remarks.
Just imagine something like this was said to your loved ones, what would be your reaction?
Liverpool supporters should understand that this goes far beyond protecting their best player. The lad is wrong and should be banned by his own team.
Suarez admitted to having used the word. His defence was based on trying to argue that it didn’t have the same connotations in his native country. Pretty weak if you ask me.
Here is the full FA report on the Suarez : Evra case- those searching for evidence can have a look.
http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/Disciplinary/NewsAndFeatures/2011/~/media/Files/PDF/TheFA/Disciplinary/Written%20reasons/FA%20v%20Suarez%20Written%20Reasons%20of%20Regulatory%20Commission.ashx
lavi ki Evra inn gagne,
li kouma enn white,
ek luis inn grandi kouma enn black…
evra is “white”
luis is “blak”
That’s a peculiar way to look at it :-)
In fairness, Liverpool FC has decided not to appeal and Luis Suarez has started serving his 8 matches ban. Let’s hope the team manages to play well in his absence…
Suarez is a really good player but his way of acting yesterday was a disgrace to such a big club as Liverpool FC… like I said in my earlier post, he should be banned for life by his own team.
I have to agree. Suarez should not have refused to shake Evra’s hand and should not have kicked the ball at the end of the first half. He acted stupidly.
Incidentally, Evra also behaved stupidly at the end of the match. Ferguson admitted that.
Things are going to get worse. And this is starting to piss me off.
Reading some blog posts and forums, the consensus is that, as Suarez believes Evra lied and got him suspended wrongly, he is not at all interested to shake hands with him. Makes sense. I guess.
Have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh2GklvY7eQ
Evra was the one who refused to shake hands with Suarez. Pathetic behaviour.
Here’s a quote: “The truth, as even Liverpool may eventually accept, is that the evidence dismantled these and other defence claims, brick by brick. That conversation in Spanish, in which Evra used “sudacaâ€. It took place in English. As Suarez conceded.”
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/Luis-Suarez-and-Patrice-Evra-racism-row-Why-Liverpool-chiefs-should-forget-appealing-the-Suarez-ruling-article848102.html
So does the above say Evra still used the word Sudaca? And at what point in the conversation? And it would not seem to matter if in English or Spanish, as if I called someone a “Mojado” (Wetback) while speaking English. We know how when name calling is brought up everything will degenerate. Okay, thanks, I’m not going to make this a long post.
Oh come on !
All the main newspapers reported that it was the liverpool player who refused to shake hands. This is so obvious. Ok, he had a hard life, but does that justify acting like a racist & a bad loser ?
Look at a better video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULNxNu_hhos&feature=related
It’s soooo obvious who is a bad loser :-)
Even liverpool management admits that the blame lays on suarez.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFpUdwzNqZ4
Suarez is just an insecure male who can’t even make an apology in person. He asks a spokesman to post a comment in some newspaper. A real man would have made a real apology. Now that he’s under media pressure, and possibly threatened with firing, he has no choice but to play the media game.
God knows how liverpool recruits their players :-).
First criteria: Are you a racist ? (check)
2nd criteria: Are you a bad loser ? (check)
Great, you can join our team :-)
And he plays football. And scores too :-)