LFC are the biggest losers...not Suarez

Liverpool FC. A team often associated with great past glories, one of the best match day atmospheres and some of the finest players to have ever graced the British game. However, their actions in response to the suspension handed to Luis Suarez have in my opinion been nothing short of extraordinary.

I am sure you have all had your chance to digest the days events and to sum up my feelings regarding the ban, I consider that it was a fair punishment, all things considered. Whether or not Luis Suarez is actually a racist is a completely different matter but his decision to use words which could cause offence based on colour/ethnicity was deserving of such a punishment in my view.

The main reason that I am blogging is that I cannot believe the reaction of LFC and more pertinently, the statement they released on their website. Was this statement put together by Gustavo Poyet? Or a 15 year old? Or both?

The statement states that Suarez cannot be a racist because of his background and his actions in the past in helping ethnic minorities in the community. Firstly, the FA did not call Suarez racist, they actually just said that he used inappropriate wording about colour. That aside, suggesting that someone cannot be racist simply because he is of a mixed origin is nothing short of farcical. I, for example, am of Indian descent. But if I walked into the office and addressed a black colleague by saying "What's up N***er!" would I really be able to hide behind my ancestry to suggest that this sort of wording was acceptable? Of course I wouldn't. The logic shown by LFC in this instance is utterly ridiculous.

Furthermore, LFC have stated that the case was based on only Evra's word? Did LFC actually realised that Suarez himself said that he had a used a word towards Evra which he said that his own players also used towards him. So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that something was definitely said by the Uruguyan.

Then to make things worse, they then make reference to Evra's previous "racist incidents", using it as a stick to beat him with. Talk about classless.  (I have noted that it has been indicated that Evra made a comment about Suarez's South American roots but this article is not commenting on that, more the reaction from LFC).

Of course the club intend to appeal the ban which they believe was too harsh. Now whilst comparing other situations across other professions can be difficult, a while back a certain Rodney Marsh made a certain comment about the Tsunami and was subsequently sacked immediately.  I am not suggesting that Suarez should be sacked but to suggest that the ban was unfair or out of proportion is difficult to agree on.

I am quite simply shocked that LFC have refused to condemn any of Suarez's actions in this whole episode. The very fact that he used a word which reference Evra's colour is a pretty damning indictment on his part, whether it was meant to cause racial offence or not. If a Chinese guy pissed me off I would just call him a rude word perhaps but if I was to call him a little ch*nk then I could hardly blame anyone for concluding that I was being racially offensive. Suarez has only himself to blame in my opinion but the embarassment caused by LFC's response means that he has not come out of this debacle with the least amount of respect out of all parties involved. That dubious accolade belongs to Liverpool Football Club.

Sunil


P.S As I have written this article, it has transpired that the team and manager are supporting Suarez by wearing T-shirts in the warm up with his face on the front.  Absolutely unbelievable!