Liverpool
A statement by the FA confirmed that Suarez had been charged following a hearing conducted by an Independent Regulatory Commission as follows:
- Mr. Suarez used insulting words towards Mr. Evra during the match contrary to FA Rule E3(1);
- the insulting words used by Mr. Suarez included a reference to Mr. Evra's colour within the meaning of Rule E3(2);
These incidents related to a Premier League between Liverpool and Manchester United on 15th October at Anfield, a fixture that is already fraught with hatred.
Suarez has admitted to using the ‘N word’ but has pleaded ignorance. His defence is that in his native Uruguay the use of the ‘N word’ is not considered as racist or offensive. That Suarez has been playing Football in Europe since moving to the Netherlands (FC Groningen and latterly Ajax), like the UK, a multi-cultural society detracts from his excuse.
An 8 game ban for any player in the Premier League era is almost unheard of. Whilst Rio Ferdinand and Kolo Toure have been dealt lengthy bans for missed and failed drugs test respectively the misdemeanors on the pitch have rarely received such punishment.
Suraez, who joined Liverpool for a then club record of £22.8m in the January transfer window of 2010 has a somewhat chequered past; when FC Groningen rejected Ajax’s €3.5m bid for him in 2007 he took the club to a KNVB (The Dutch FA) arbitration hearing which later ruled against him. Ajax subsequently had a €7.5m bid accepted and the Uruguayan moved to Amsterdam where despite a phenomenal scoring record (81 goals in 110 games) he continued to court controversy.
In addition to 3 yellow cards and a red in his first five games for his new club he was also suspended by Ajax after an altercation between Suarez and a teammate over who would take a free kick, and then immediately prior to his transfer to Liverpool, he was banned for 7 games for biting an opponent, an act which earned him the nickname ‘The Ajax Cannibal’.
His form and reputation has been mirrored in International Football. 26 goals in 52 games including 5 in the 2010 World Cup are mixed with his red card for punching the ball off the line in the closing seconds of Uruguay’s Quarter Final over Ghana. Had Suarez not intervened Ghana would have won 2-1. Suarez was vilified and had “enraged an entire continent”. It was not so much the act itself as much the camera shot of him celebrating in the tunnel when Asamoah Gyan blazed the resulting penalty over the bar. Uruguay would go on to win the shoot-out although Suarez was then suspended for the Semi-Final.
When Suarez joined the Premier League it was for this misdemeanor and general gamesmanship that he was most notorious. However, having being given the iconic no.7 shirt and scoring on his debut in front of the Kop he soon became an Anfield icon. A mesmerizing performance against Manchester United (in which Suarez was directly responsible for each of Kuyt’s 3 goals) enhanced his reputation beyond Anfield and he became recognised as one of the true stars of a rejuvenated Liverpool side.
It is therefore with some irony that Suarez should make headlines again, this time for the wrong reasons, in the same fixture. An ongoing dispute and verbal confrontation between Suarez and Evra was brought to the attention of TV viewers throughout the game. Referee Andre Mariner included details of the altercation in his standard match report and on 16 November the FA formally charged the Liverpool striker with misconduct.
To add further fuels to the flame Suarez has also been charged with improper conduct for ‘alleged gestures made towards Fulham fans’ after Liverpool had been beaten 1-0 at Craven Cottage on 5 December; a game that also saw Liverpool Football Club charged with ‘failing to control their players’ after Jay Speering was sent off in the second half. Suarez is yet to receive a punishment for this offence.
English football has done far more than most to stamp racism out of the game but this is the most high profile case the FA have had to deal with. Suarez’s naivety is open to interpretation. He has been backed by fellow Uruguayan Gus Poyet who has played in England since 1998 and is currently manager of Brighton & Hove Albion.
"Suarez just arrived [in the Premier League] and there are things that he has to learn when you are in another country because they might be normal in your country but perhaps they are not considered that way in other parts of the world.
"I have tried to explain that we live with coloured (sic.)people in Uruguay. We share different experiences with them. We play football, we share parties. We are born, we grow up and we die with them. We call them 'blacks' in a natural way, even in an affectionate way. That is the way we were brought up. We are integrated and there are no problems from either side”.
Liverpool Football Club has voiced their disgust against the Suarez decision. As you would expect they have defended their player throughout the episode, yet now that it has been proven that Suarez has used the ‘N word’ have continued to defend the in defendable.
A statement on behalf of the Liverpool players was posted on the official club website last night:
Luis Suarez is our teammate and our friend and as a group of players we are shocked and angered that he has been found guilty by the FA.
We totally support Luis and we want the world to know that. We know he is not racist.
We are a squad of many different nationalities and backgrounds. All of us support the Club's commitment to fighting racism. All of us accept there is no place in the game for any form of discrimination. As a group of players we totally support the Kick it Out Campaign.
We have lived, trained and played with Luis for almost 12 months and we don't recognise the way he has been portrayed. We will continue to support Luis through this difficult period, and as a popular and respected friend of all his teammates, he will not walk alone.
It is the last sentence that bothers me. “You’ll never walk alone” has been one of football’s most powerful strap lines that Liverpool Football Club has used to stir powerful emotions in the face of tragedy (Hillsborough) to portray a sense of unity across club, community and society.
At Wednesday’s game with Wigan Athletic, Suarez’s teammates went one step further by warming up in Luis Suarez t-shirts. Liverpool has announced that they will appeal the punishment to try and clear Suarez’s name but in doing so are they merely fuelling the flames between them and Manchester United? Should Suarez’s ban be upheld he would return in time for the return fixture at Old Trafford on 11 February.
Liverpool run the risk of walking alone against the moral high ground should they continue to back their player.
