Re: The Suarez/Evra Racism Row (continued)
[quote author=Asbo link=topic=48021.msg1450497#msg1450497 date=1324558709]
[size=12pt]The F.A, Luis Suarez & The New Liverpool[/size]
HalcyonMag:
It was a shot across the bows which no one, not least the Football Association, expected.
Liverpool’s response to Luis Suarez’s eight-game ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra was uncharacteristic from the club, but it was clear that the time for diplomacy had passed. The content of the statement belonged more to city’s militant heritage rather than the club’s long-running penchant for conducting its business, regardless of severity, in a private manner.
This was the first strike from the new Liverpool; the sign of a club which is not afraid to strike out where and when necessary, especially against the football authority with which it already has endured strained relations this season.
The pressure cooker between Wembley and Anfield has been simmering since September when Kenny Dalglish questioned refereeing standards and the ensuing disciplinary procedures. His campaign has began to gather momentum with several of his Premier League counterparts eventually finding their voices on the matter. However little support has been forthcoming for Suarez as the racism row neared its conclusion yesterday evening.
Such is the tribal nature of the game that both parties have been wrongly labelled. Evra has been branded a serial accuser, despite evidence to the contrary (several previous allegations of racism involving him have been made by third parties) while Suarez is now deemed to be a racist; a smear spread across the back page of one national newspaper yesterday morning.
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The chief executive for Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE), the FA’s findings and, judging by Liverpool’s statement, Evra himself acknowledge that Suarez is not a racist, but the verdict, no matter how carefully worded for legal purposes, has allowed the wrong conclusions to be drawn by the football populus.
His previous misgivings at Ajax, where he was suspended by the Dutch FA for biting PSV’s Otman Bakkal, and the infamous handball incident against Ghana during last year’s World Cup had left his card well and truly marked while his provocation of United defender Rafael during their visit to Anfield last season, less than a month into his career in England, did little to help his case. This season he has continued in the same impressive run of form which earned adulation from both fans and journalists alike but his occasional histrionics have only served as further evidence that his 2010 habits will continue to die hard.
With regards to Evra, the FA’s decision not to act on allegations that he told Marriner “you’re only booking me because I’m black” after being cautioned for a challenge on Dirk Kuyt, just two minutes after he and Suarez had faced off, indicates that this claim carried little substance during the Independent Regulatory Commission’s investigation.
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But this is merely the beginning, rather than the end of the matter. Liverpool’s statement was followed by a response from the team and a collective show of support with players sporting t-shirts with the striker’s face and name on them ahead of last night’s goalless draw with Wigan.
All eyes were on Suarez during the stalemate at the DW Stadium and for all his jovial facial expressions, it was his worst performance to date for Liverpool, which was to be expected from a player sentenced on the say-so of an opposing player.
From the offset, this case has always been one man’s word against another. Neither Suarez or Evra’s team mates, nor referee Andre Marriner heard any of the alleged terms but the FA had to be seen as taking a stand against racism following Sepp Blatter’s remarkable statement about the matter last month and the claim against England captain John Terry.
In doing so, they have allowed Suarez to become the game’s most recent victim of ‘trial by media’. And as every football fan knows, mud sticks.
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Good article.
