8-match ban for Luis Suarez racist comments

[klr]

An 8 match ban, and a 40,000 STG fine. The money is only a few days wages, but 8 matches ... ouch.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/16186556.stm

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez handed eight-match FA ban

Liverpool's Luis Suarez has been handed an eight-match ban and a £40,000 fine by the Football Association after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

The Uruguay striker, 24, clashed with the France defender during the 1-1 draw at Anfield on 15 October.

Suarez, who denied the allegations, has 14 days to appeal against the decision.

He tweeted: "Today is a very difficult and painful day for me and my family. Thanks for all the support."

Liverpool, who had backed their player throughout the case, said the club was "very surprised and disappointed with the decision", while manager Kenny Dalglish said on Twitter that he was "very disappointed".

The Reds boss added: "This is the time when Luis Suarez needs our full support. Let's not let him walk alone."

The six-day hearing, which concluded on Tuesday, was told Suarez used "insulting words", which included a reference to Evra's colour.

A Liverpool statement said: "We find it extraordinary that Luis can be found guilty on the word of Patrice Evra alone.

"No one else on the field of play - including Evra's own Manchester United team-mates and all the match officials - heard the alleged conversation between the two players in a crowded Kop goalmouth."

Liverpool added: "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."

But Liverpool have questioned whether the FA also intends to charge Evra with making abusive remarks to an opponent.

The Anfield statement added: "Evra 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."

The FA said the penalty is suspended until after the outcome of any appeal which may be made by Suarez.

Its statement added: "The reason for this is to ensure that the penalty does not take effect before any appeal so that Mr Suarez has an effective right of appeal."

Piara Powar, executive director of Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare), believes the governing body's decision is a landmark judgement.

He told BBC Radio 5 live: "This is the first time we have seen an insight into what is said between players on the pitch, and what may have been commonplace between players in the past.

"This is a big moment and I would say that FA have dealt with this in the right way. They have taken their time and taken independent advice.

"No one takes any pleasure from seeing him found guilty like this but it is an interesting judgement."

Powar said Fare has taken advice on the abusive word used by Suarez and the context of similar words in South American dialect.

He added: "If it is used in a friendly fashion then it is acceptable, it turns immediately to a hostile meaning if it used as an offensive word.

"Taking the context of that game, it is difficult to see how he would have used it in a friendly way."

Suarez, who is facing a separate charge from the FA over an alleged abusive hand gesture he made as he left the pitch following Liverpool's 1-0 defeat by Fulham on 5 December, told media in Uruguay that he "called him [Evra] something his team-mates at Manchester call him".

Evra made his claims immediately after the match and was quoted as telling French television station Canal Plus: "There are cameras, you can see [Suarez] say a certain word to me at least 10 times."

The Frenchman reported his complaint after the game to match referee Andre Marriner, who included it in his report.

Chairman of anti-racism group Kick It Out Herman Ouseley said: "The FA has shown leadership and intent through what has clearly been a difficult and complex complaint to deal with, and invested time and expertise to ensure this outcome.

"It has demonstrated that it will not stand for discrimination, something organizations such as Fifa and Uefa should take heed of."

Professional Footballers' Association chairman Clarke Carlisle added on Twitter: "Unprecedented sanctions for an unprecedented verdict in 'on the pitch' racism. 100% correct, set the benchmark that racism is unacceptable."

Naturally, the news has not gone down too well in Uruguay: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/16262537.stm

[Animavore]

Dumb ass.

[John_fi_Skye]

Fair enough. Let him grow up and become less antisocial.

[klr]

Let's face it, he's hardly an innocent abroad. A couple of years playing in the Netherlands should have made it quite clear to him some of the things you definitely can't say, "cultural nuances" or not. And saying it at least 10 times to Evra is a bit of black mark as well.

[Strontium Dog]

A complete and utter stitch up based on nothing but hearsay.

The only racism on display here is coming from the FA, who have essentially found the player guilty of nothing more than being from South America.

The club's statement is absolutely brilliant, and it looks like they are prepared to defend the player all the way to the very highest level, which is fantastic.

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.

...

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.

...

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.

[redunderthebed]

Liverpool plan to wear black armbands for the game against Wigan to show their support for Luis Suarez after his 8 game ban. Suarez is reportedly upset with the color of the armbands.

[klr]

Liverpool plan to wear black armbands for the game against Wigan to show their support for Luis Suarez after his 8 game ban. Suarez is reportedly upset with the color of the armbands.

[Strontium Dog]

Liverpool plan to wear black armbands for the game against Wigan to show their support for Luis Suarez after his 8 game ban. Suarez is reportedly upset with the color of the armbands.

Suarez is black you dunderhead

The Liverpool players are all wearing Suarez t-shirts for the warm-up, a massive fuck you to the racist FA

[redunderthebed]

Liverpool plan to wear black armbands for the game against Wigan to show their support for Luis Suarez after his 8 game ban. Suarez is reportedly upset with the color of the armbands.

Suarez is black you dunderhead

The Liverpool players are all wearing Suarez t-shirts for the warm-up, a massive fuck you to the racist FA

Lolz like a 1/4 sounds like some of the aboriginals around here.

[klr]

Liverpool plan to wear black armbands for the game against Wigan to show their support for Luis Suarez after his 8 game ban. Suarez is reportedly upset with the color of the armbands.

Suarez is black you dunderhead

The Liverpool players are all wearing Suarez t-shirts for the warm-up, a massive fuck you to the racist FA

Er no, Suarez is Latino. But he's apparently upholding the Liverpool FC tradition of racism ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Smit ... rn_1945%29

In 1988 [Tommy] Smith caused considerable controversy after making derogatory comments about black people to author Dave Hill while being interviewed in the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool for a book Hill was writing about black Liverpool F.C player John Barnes. Smith was uncomplimentary about Howard Gayle, a black former Liverpool player with whom Smith had been at the club in the 1970s while the striker was a youth team player, saying that: "Howard suffered from a black man's attitude towards the white man. See, everybody thinks whites have an attitude towards blacks. In reality it's blacks who have a problem with the whites". Smith later added that in order to gain his respect and friendship, "coloured" people have to learn to "think like the white man" and that he later grew to like Gayle, remarking that "I used to call Howard the 'White Nigger'. Now that is a compliment. It was the only way I could find to describe that I thought he was OK." Smith then went on to comment to Hill that "I'm not prejudiced but if a coon moved in next door, I'd move, like most white people would. If my daughter came home with a nigger, I'd go mad. But I'm only being truthful and normal." [3] Hill reproduced Smith's comments in his 1989 book Out Of His Skin: The John Barnes Phenomenon. Smith reacted by implying that he intended to sue Hill but he in fact had no grounds to take legal action as Hill had recorded all of Smith's comments on tape during the interview and had quoted all of his statements accurately while keeping the tape safe in his possession. Hill's book was widely praised by critics but Smith was heavily condemned for his comments quoted in the book.

[klr]

Liverpool and Suarez have chosen ... not to appeal:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/16402384.stm

[John_fi_Skye]

I think we need the use of goal-line technology in this case: with all the cameras on the players while the corner was being taken, surely there would be enough footage to enable a skilled lip-reader to make out pretty clearly whether he was saying, "Good afternoon, Patrice old chap. Would you care to join me after the match for a cucumber sandwich?"

[klr]

I think we need the use of goal-line technology in this case: with all the cameras on the players while the corner was being taken, surely there would be enough footage to enable a skilled lip-reader to make out pretty clearly whether he was saying, "Good afternoon, Patrice old chap. Would you care to join me after the match for a cucumber sandwich?"

There is mention in at least one article that Suarez's evidence did not tally with "video evidence", so I guess it was not purely one player's word against the other.

Anyway, Liverpool and Suarez can play the martyrs all they like. Actions speak louder than words. To not even bother appealing an 8-match ban is pretty much saying that they don't think there's any real hope of getting it reduced.

[Strontium Dog]

Er no, Suarez is Latino.

His grandfather is black, which makes Suarez black under whatever racial classification you want to employ.

But he's apparently upholding the Liverpool FC tradition of racism ...

The "Liverpool FC tradition of racism" is comments by one old man?

I think you don't know what tradition means.

Liverpool and Suarez have chosen ... not to appeal:

I completely understand why. Even though there isn't a shred of real evidence against Luis, and Evra has form for false accusations of racial abuse, I think the club recognise that the FA is as corrupt an organisation as you could ever encounter and that an appeal is doomed to failure. They've seen that Suarez has been well and truly stitched up and decided to draw a line under it.

[John_fi_Skye]

The comments from Tommy Smith are good, though. In the early 80's, I remember the head teacher of a large secondary school in Edinburgh telling me that while he didn't consider himself racist, if his daughter wanted to marry a black man he couldn't see himself being happy about it. I do think we've come some way in these last few decades: not that there aren't still unhealthy attitudes around, but that I think they're just that wee bit less socially acceptable.