De Boer : Suárez proved his liability to do “stupid things”

last SG · 2012-02-13T19:16:37+00:00

Suarez has let his club down by breaking his promise to the fans and also Kenny. If he dun want to shake hand then at least say he wont shake mah. Kenny must...

zocoss SG

Manchester United manager Ferguson branded Suarez a disgrace after the Reds striker snubbed Evra's pre-match handshake.

The race row pair were then embroiled in a furious tunnel bust-up as tensions between them boiled over at Old Trafford.

Police and stewards had to separate the warring duo when Evra stormed after the striker to confront him about the snub during the interval.

But Ferguson claims the blame for the duo's latest row lies firmly at the feet of Uruguayan hitman Suarez.

When asked about the handshake snub, Fergie raged: "I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it.

"I had a chat with Patrice this morning and he said, 'I'm going to shake his hand — I have nothing to be ashamed of, I want to keep my dignity' and then Suarez refuses.

"He's a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club. Some players should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again.

"With the history that club's got and in a situation like today, he could have caused a riot.

"I was really disappointed in that guy. That was terrible what he did.

"It created a tension — the referee didn't know what to do about it, it caught him off guard.

"It was a terrible start to the game and a terrible atmosphere it created."

United captain Evra was left fuming prior to kick-off when Suarez flatly refused to shake hands with him.

The Frenchman grabbed Suarez's arm in an attempt to force him to make the gesture.

But the 25-year-old hitman moved down the line and shook hands with United goalkeeper David De Gea instead.

However, Suarez was snubbed himself when he confronted Rio Ferdinand seconds later.

Ferdinand — whose brother Anton is involved in a race row with Chelsea's John Terry — refused to shake Suarez's hand when it was offered.

When asked if the pre-match handshake should have been scrapped altogether, Ferguson said: "That's a different situation altogether.

"That started when the Premier League was formed and it's never been a problem, really, up until this situation regarding racism.

"It's never been a problem. So really we've got to get our house in order in terms of fighting racism.

"It's an issue — it's an absolutely important issue in this country.

"Football has come a long way from the days of when John Barnes had bananas thrown at him to where we are today and we can't go back.

"We have to go forward in a positive way and ban it altogether."

And Evra celebrated wildly in front of his own fans at the final whistle — with Suarez standing just yards away from him.

But Ferguson admitted his left-back would probably have done better to leave the pitch quietly.

The 70-year-old Scot added: "He shouldn't have done that."

Fans around the country immediately slammed Suarez for passing up the chance to settle his feud with Evra.

And former United defender Gary Neville also condemned the former Ajax forward's actions.

He said: "Luis Suarez has completely blanked Evra — I'm not sure it was the wisest thing to do.

"I'm not sure it's helped his football club. Kenny Dalglish has been put in a position where he will have to defend him again.

"They don't like each other — I don't have a problem with that. It's what makes the Premier League the best in the world — we want this sort of tension.

"We don't want racism, but the passion and the tackling — we want that in the game."

Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp said the Football Association should have scrapped the pre-match handshake.

He said: "It was always going to happen today — you could tell before the game. They should have taken it out of the equation."

Newcastle right-back Danny Simpson tweeted: "Can anyone explain why Suarez wouldn't shake Evra's hand?

"He has to be bigger than that, served your ban and move forward as Evra was going to shake his.

"Nice to see the majority of people think that was a big disrespect, not to Evra but to football as well and that he should have shaken his hand."

Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong also chipped in. He said: "I have just today realised Suarez is a total wasteman Clown."

And former Crystal Palace striker Mark Bright added: "I consider Patrice Evra a gentleman.

"He was racially abused, has yet to have an apology, yet offers his hand to the perpetrator."

Suarez served an eight-match ban after the FA found him guilty of racially abusing French left-back Evra in the 1-1 Anfield draw with Manchester United in October.

zocoss SG

Low point: Luis Suarez snubs Patrice Evra

Flash point: Evra grabs his arm (left) but ref Phil Dowd intervenes

Week upon week, the humiliation of Liverpool FC increases. And Saturday's events at Old Trafford may trigger a significant reaction from the club owners in Boston.

Once again, the usual suspects were responsible for lowering the tone, spirits and reputation of one of our greatest clubs. Luis Suarez, a dim and truculent provocateur, lived down to expectations.

After being scrupulously tried and duly convicted of racial abuse by an FA regulatory commission, there were those who believed he might reveal a touch of contrition on his first start following his return.

It was a foolishly optimistic view, one which he confounded within moments of his appearance on the pitch. The refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra was more than a slap in the face for ordinary decency, it was a shabby affirmation that no lessons have been learned, no minds changed, no attitudes reconsidered after the events which provoked his downfall.

Even by the standards of the modern game, in which certain players believe themselves far beyond the reach of those rules which govern the rest of us, this was staggering arrogance. Indeed, at a time when football finds itself struggling with racial problems which it thought it had overcome, it might have been something worse than arrogance.

Final whistle: Evra celebrates the win as Suarez walks off

Undoubtedly, he has been encouraged in his idiocy by attitudes struck by manager Kenny Dalglish. Throughout this depressing saga, Dalglish has promoted a sense of paranoia, a feeling that the club have been hard done-by, ill-used, savagely put-upon. He has conjured the notion of a vast conspiracy directed at Liverpool, without ever explaining the logic or the motives behind such a movement.

At its most crass, it was the T-shirt worn to support Suarez, a gesture so tasteless that a football manager of even modest intelligence might have rejected it out of hand. Dalglish wore his daft little shirt as if it were a badge of martyrdom, utterly unaware of the ridiculous figure he was cutting.

Most distressing was his welcome back to Suarez, with the stubborn insistence that, of course, he should never have been away. A chance to lay the issue quietly to rest was thereby rejected, the affair was given fresh legs. His post-match interview with Sky TV yesterday showed the man at his worst. In the face of reasonable, courteous and relevant questions about the handshaking incident, he behaved like a bar-room bully: 'You're bang out of order … bit of banter ... I never saw it.'

In refusing to disown, or even criticise, his player's conduct, he allowed Sir Alex Ferguson to make his contemptuous condemnation of the miserable Suarez: 'A disgrace to Liverpool Football Club,' he called him and, of course, he is.

Standing firm: Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish

The rest of the nation has regarded events at Liverpool with a mixture of disdain and disappointment. This is the club of Shankly and Paisley, of St John and Keegan, of fine men and great players. It is also the club of Kenny Dalglish, a glorious player who once represented everything that was fine about his club and his adopted city.

No longer. The man is reduced to a scowling, sneering presence. Every time he opens his mouth, he seems to grow a little smaller.

The men in Boston have been remarkably patient with his handling of a protracted crisis. But patience has its limits, and one senses that they may be reaching them.

zocoss SG

Apparently, Kenny was made looking like a fool by Suarez after what he said in an interview 2 just days before...

Kenny Dalglish has revealed Luis Suarez will shake hands with Patrice Evra when Liverpool face Manchester United at the weekend.

Tensions are sure to be high at Old Trafford, as it will be the first meeting between the two sides since Suarez completed his ban for racially abusing Evra.

Concerns have been raised about how Suarez and Evra will react when coming eye-to-eye, but Reds boss Dalglish claims to have spoken to his player and expects him to honour the pre-game handshake.

"People are already speculating on the pre-match ceremony, but from Luis' point of view we have spoken to him and I know he will shake the hand of Patrice Evra and the other Manchester United players before the game," Dalglish told the club's official website.

Dalglish has called on all connected with both clubs to conduct themselves to the highest standards and feels the time has come to put the affair behind them.

He said: "Everyone involved, including the media, the supporters and both teams have a responsibility to ensure this weekend is remembered as a cracking game of football between two very good sides, rather than for anything else.

"I thought everyone involved in the FA Cup tie at Anfield played their part in making sure that the match was played in the right way, so let's make sure that happens again this weekend.

"I'm sure people will want to talk about Luis Suarez, but he accepted his ban, served his suspension and returned against Spurs on Monday. It's time for all of us to draw a line under what happened and move forward."

zocoss SG

Outraged by everything and ashamed of nothing, Kenny Dalglish's response over Luis Suárez sums up the paranoia enveloping Liverpool

Kenny Dalglish, Manchester United v Liverpool

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/7506187/Dalglish-points-at-media

In the end, it was difficult to know what was the more depressing and shocking: that moment when Luis Suárez walked past Patrice Evra, refused to shake his hand and reminded us this is a man whose brains are all in his feet, or afterwards when Kenny Dalglish tried to stare down the questions before coming up with a response that was so outlandishly flawed it made you wonder where he was storing all the qualities which we once associated with him?

What Suárez did was callous, premeditated and dimwitted to the point that, if Liverpool had any sense, they would have condemned it on the spot and at least salvaged a semblance of dignity. Instead, they reverted to their default setting whenever Suárez comes under scrutiny: this half-baked conspiracy that everyone is against them and that the only way to combat this is to go on the attack themselves. Outraged by everything, ashamed of nothing.

Perhaps we should be used to it by now but it was still shocking to see Dalglish, one of the giants of our game, eyeballing his interviewer and tell him that it was "bang out of order" to suggest that Suárez had done anything even remotely wrong.

At least Sir Alex Ferguson, so aggrieved he said Suárez should never be allowed to wear Liverpool's colours again, could step out of his own anger to acknowledge that Patrice Evra should have resisted his post-match victory dance.

This was the moment when Dalglish should have taken a deep breath and admitted that, yes, it was wrong of Suárez, unhelpful and immature, and he would be pointing this out to his player. Instead, he played dumb. He had no idea what had happened in the fair-play handshake and, in the absence of a polygraph, Robert De Niro would have been proud of his dramatic pose.

Then he realised the questions were not going to end there and it was here the paranoia, the blind bias and pigheaded denials all merged into one.

At one point he switched the subject to blame Sky. "When we had the FA Cup tie, because there was no 24-hour news channel, nothing happened." He cited the fact there were only two bookings in this game, ignoring that there were two separate flash points when police and fluorescent-jacketed security guards had to separate the players. Most pathetically of all, there were suggestions later on it was actually Evra who withdrew his hand. It was claptrap and, wisely, nobody from Anfield dared say it on the record.

Perhaps Suárez felt he had to corroborate the line that he has peddled all along, namely that it was all a bunch of spiteful lies on Evra's behalf. Plainly, he still maintains that calling someone "negro" during an argument is fine for a Spanish speaker, even if one of the best QCs in the country had deemed parts of his defence were "unsustainable and simply incredible". It is difficult, to be honest, to know what was going on between his ears.

"I couldn't believe it," Ferguson said. "I just could not believe it. We had a chat this morning and Patrice said: 'I'm going to shake his hand, I have nothing to be ashamed of, I'm going to keep my dignity.' And he [Suárez] refuses. The history that club has got … and he does that. It could have caused a riot. I was really disappointed in that guy."

Evra had grabbed Suárez's arm to remonstrate but it was just as quickly pulled away again. Rio Ferdinand looked at Suárez with contempt. "I lost all respect for the guy," Ferdinand said later. "After seeing what he did, I decided I couldn't shake his hand." From Danny Welbeck, there was only the briefest touch of flesh on flesh. These players had agonised this week about whether they should conform and, in the end, they decided they had to do it because the alternative would be that they kept the racism issue going. "The referee didn't know what to do," Ferguson said. "It was a terrible start to the game, a terrible atmosphere it created."

Ferguson had written in his programme notes that his "biggest regret is the way Patrice has been castigated in some quarters for standing up to racism". Now he let it all out. "For a club with their history, I'd get rid of him, I really would," he said. "Liverpool Football Club have a player banned for eight matches, and they've tried to blame Patrice Evra? It's him they should be bloody blaming. He could have cost them a European place. He is a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club. That player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again."

When the dust settles Evra may reflect it was silly to celebrate so provocatively at the end but, by that stage, he was probably entitled to a little triumphalism. He has been abused, demonised, booed and jeered since reporting Suárez to the referee at Anfield last October. Here was his chance to indulge in some schadenfreude and he took it, celebrating as though this were the last football match of his life.

He had been wrong, as well, to hunt out Suárez at half-time but, for those of us in the press box, the abiding memory of that point was the clutch of former Liverpool players stood around, shaking their heads and concluding with a mixture of embarrassment and horror that Dalglish would have to remove Suárez.

It had become clear very quickly that the Uruguayan was dangerously wound up but, seriously, was there any realistic prospect Dalglish would withdraw him? As far as the Scot is concerned, Suárez is beyond reproach. That, quite possibly, is the most alarming thing of all.

Jacky Woo SG

I am wondering how their owner is thinking about this whole sorry affair. surely this will sully their name, still unrepentent and defending the indefensible. when you do that, you are insulting people's intelligence.

zocoss SG

Standing firm: Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish

Sunday's newspapers make depressing reading for Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, widely condemned over his conduct throughout the Luis Suarez affair.

Dalglish declined to criticise Luis Suarez after the striker refused to shake hands with United's Patrice Evra ahead of Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

Observer: Liverpool's Kenny Dalglish plays dumb to leave his dignity in tatters

Daniel Taylor: 'Kenny Dalglish tried to stare down the (post-match interview) questions before coming up with a response that was so outlandishly flawed it made you wonder where he was storing all the qualities which we once associated with him? What Suarez did was callous, premeditated and dimwitted to the point that, if Liverpool had any sense, they would have condemned it on the spot and at least salvaged a semblance of dignity. Instead, they reverted to their default setting whenever Suarez comes under scrutiny: this half-baked conspiracy that everyone is against them and that the only way to combat this is to go on the attack themselves. Outraged by everything, ashamed of nothing.'

Mail on Sunday: Dalglish is reduced to a scowling, sneering bar-room bully

Patrick Collins: 'Undoubtedly, (Suarez) has been encouraged in his idiocy by attitudes struck by manager Kenny Dalglish. Throughout this depressing saga, Dalglish has promoted a sense of paranoia, a feeling that the club have been hard done-by, ill-used, savagely put-upon. He has conjured the notion of a vast conspiracy directed at Liverpool, without ever explaining the logic or the motives behind such a movement. At its most crass, it was the T-shirt worn to support Suarez, a gesture so tasteless that a football manager of even modest intelligence might have rejected it out of hand. Dalglish wore his daft little shirt as if it were a badge of martyrdom, utterly unaware of the ridiculous figure he was cutting.'

Sunday Telegraph: Dalglish walks alone in defence of striker

Henry Winter: 'For those of us gathered here at Old Trafford yesterday for the latest outbreak of hostilities between Manchester United and Liverpool, Suárez’s behaviour was embarrassing to behold. The fires of enmity always burn between these ancient rivals but Suárez inflamed the mood further by refusing to shake the hand of Patrice Evra. Those tuning in across the planet were presented with the picture of Suárez offending further an opponent he had racially abused. For a club that prides itself on its renown around the world, those pictures were a PR disaster.'

Sunday Times: Shaming of football

Jonathan Norcroft: 'When the dust settled, the bile subsided and the straitjackets were put away, Manchester United were left top of the Premier League. Recently, covering English football has felt like sending bulletins live from the asylum. Yet if you looked hard enough, past the handshake, the stupid fan chants, the stewards separating warring players and, hardest of all, beyond the loathsome Luis Suarez, there was a game of football here. United won it, and deservedly, and are leaders for the first time since October 1 to exert pressure on Manchester City before today’s clash with Aston Villa.'

Sunday Mirror: Sinner... not a saint

Anthony Clavane: 'Luis Suarez might have put the ball into the United net at Old Trafford, but his PR own goal will have a lasting effect on his career in England – and quite possibly destabilise Liverpool’s season. What on Earth was he thinking of? Kenny Dalglish indicated earlier in the week that Suarez would shake Evra’s hand. In refusing to do so, he let himself down, let Dalglish down and let the Kop fans down. The Sunday Mirror doesn’t always agree with Sir Alex Ferguson, but on this occasion he was spot on (in calling Suarez 'a disgrace').'

Independent on Sunday: Rooney rises above acrimony to settle score

Steve Tongue: 'There have now been 184 meetings between the two most successful clubs in English football history and it is difficult to believe that any other has been surrounded by quite the acrimony of yesterday's. In the Sixties and Seventies the players would kick or fight each other and supporters would do likewise, but here the backdrop was unique. From the moment that police confiscated every copy of a Manchester United fanzine, through Luis Suarez shockingly snubbing a handshake from Patrice Evra, then a fracas breaking out in the tunnel at half-time and Sir Alex Ferguson declaring the Uruguayan should never play for Liverpool again, it was an extraordinary day all round.'

Sunday Express: Football the loser on a day of shame

John Richardson: 'We had the good, Rooney’s goals, the bad, Liverpool’s failure to impose themselves until too late, and the ugly, the Luis Suarez-Patrice Evra affair which seems to be running longer than The Mousetrap. Just when a tiresome saga which has shamed football was ready to be finally put to bed, oafish behaviour from Suarez reignited the feud. A week of promises that the potential tinderbox situation would be dampened down obviously fell on deaf ears as far as the controversial Uruguayan was concerned.'

The People: Kick him out

Dave Kidd: 'Dalglish will doubtless carry on sneering at outside criticism of his continued insistence that Luis Suarez should never have been banned. But Liverpool's chippy manager knows full well that any such us-against-the-world rhetoric will go down beautifully with most of the Anfield faithful. Dalglish was appointed, not so much because of (owner John W.) Henry's independent will, but by an unstoppable tide of public opinion. The Scot is a canny old politician. And he knows his constituency.'

- - -

Eurosport

Jacky Woo SG

without doubt, the reputation of the club and manager are in tatters. they didnt handled it well from the outset and defending the indefensible from Kenny. as for Suarez I think his career in England maybe as good as over. surely the black players in EPL and Europe wont be happy with him, thats for sure. when he insulted one player as negro, he insulted all the black players as well. not only that, he insulted the whole of the black people as negro.

RenesisTurbo SG

Suarez could have been a great player but just like Capello,KD chose to defend him blindly and even though Evra tried but in vain to shake hands with him.

What a unsporting fella this Suarez is!He should ask his agent to get him out of England on a one way ticket to Spain,France or Italy.

zocoss SG

Snubbed: Patrice Evra grabs Luis Suarez after the Liverpool striker ignores him

Anger: Evra is bristling as referee Phil Dowd (right) steps forward

Flashpoint: Luis Suarez refused to shake Patrice Evra's hand

The Liverpool striker snubbed the Manchester United skipper during the pre-match build-up.

Suarez scored as the Reds lost 2-1 to their bitter rivals but it was overshadowed by his antics.

Clashes both on and off the pitch dominated the match and Suarez now admits he should have acknowledged Evra's offer.

In a statement, he said: "I have spoken with the manager since the game at Old Trafford and I realise I got things wrong.

"I've not only let him down, but also the club and what it stands for and I'm sorry. I made a mistake and I regret what happened.

"I should have shaken Patrice Evra's hand before the game and I want to apologise for my actions.

"I would like to put this whole issue behind me and concentrate on playing football."

Kop boss Kenny Dalglish also apologised for his behaviour in a post-match interview in which he defended Suarez.

The Scot said: "To be honest, I was shocked to hear that the player had not shaken hands having been told earlier in the week that he would do.

"But all of us have a responsibility to represent this club in a fit and proper manner and that applies equally to me as Liverpool manager.

"When I went on TV after yesterday's game I hadn't seen what had happened but I did not conduct myself in a way befitting of a Liverpool manager during that interview and I'd like to apologise for that."

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre also condemned Suarez's actions, claiming the club was "mislead" by the Uruguay international.

He said: "We are extremely disappointed Luis Suarez did not shake hands with Patrice Evra before yesterday's game.

"The player had told us beforehand that he would, but then chose not to do so.

"He was wrong to mislead us and wrong not to offer his hand to Patrice Evra.

"He has not only let himself down but also Kenny Dalglish, his teammates and the club.

"It has been made absolutely clear to Luis Suarez that his behaviour was not acceptable.

"Luis Suarez has now apologised for his actions which was the right thing to do.

"However, all of us have a duty to behave in a responsible manner and we hope that he now understands what is expected of anyone representing Liverpool Football Club."

Rock^Star SG

Saw the post match interview and how dalglish tried to evade the question about suarez refusing to shake hands. Kept saying he didn't see it but the reporter insisted that this was what happened and tried to get an answer. Still insisted he didn't see it.

Couldn't believe that was Kenny Dalglish.

Jacky Woo SG

took so long for him to say sorry since the insult in October last year, must be talked thru it by the management of the club. same for kenny.

zocoss SG

Must have got scolding from Henry that is why the 180 degrees change in attitude... Now then eat humble pie, otherwise before so arrogant.

ah ken was describe as a bar-room bully by one of the press...

Jacky Woo SG

not sincere apology. whats the use.

zocoss SG

Nvm lah... We can only imagine with his character the way it is, how difficult it must have been for ah ken to put out that statement even if he didn't want to... That is enough i think...

But i will say this, if the person is a troublemaker, eventually he will create trouble once again. Example Terry...

Toiletries SG

If I'm Suarez, I'll hand in a transfer request and go to Man Utd, befriend everyone and the fans via excellent football display and then ultimately and backhandedly, cause Evra and Evans to be sold in the transfer window.

Jacky Woo SG

ya right and evra to join liverpool

dragg SG

look at scholes in the picture.

he very pek chek.

Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1) SG

by the way

even if Bridge also wont willing to shake hands with Terry after fcking his wife

y did evra was willing to shake hands with Suarez?... something wrong with this..

and somehow i really dun understand y were u willing to shake hands to a person who scold u negro in the 1st place? And no apology from Suarez...

my post was not to help who or wad.. juz want to find out a reason to it....

Jacky Woo SG

if evra has a choice, I think he wont shake the hands with that racist, but SAF asked him to for sporting and the chance to bury the hatchet since he already served a 7 games banned, but that racist was still unrepentent. his apology is forced thru his throat by the club board, not that he is sincere. I believe he is still adamant he has done nothing wrong.

1 thing I also dun understand was why terry was being hauled to court and Suarez not, just a 7 game banned only.

Bus&Soccer l0v3r (VO3x 1) SG

oh..

sportmanship...

Suarez refused, too bad.. evra and rio all go out tackles

haiz now suarez then say sorry... it juz up to evra to accept it lia0