Beyond A Joke
Luis Suarez is back in the new headlines again, but for all the wrong reasons as he resorts to biting an opposing player (Girogio Chiellini) in an important World Cup game between Uruguay and Italy.
But this whole biting business is getting beyond a joke because what other player in the world stoops to this kind of ridiculous, childish, out of control behaviour - from someone who should be a role model for young football players around the world.
Sadly, the footballing authorities need to step in and deal with Suarez because there's no sign that the Uruguay are willing or able to discipline effectively their best asset on the field of play.
None So Blind (29 January 2012)
Liverpool beat their fiercest rivals - Manchester United - yesterday and knocked them out of the FA Cup.
Not a great game by all accounts - but the behaviour of the Liverpool fans was not something to admire.
'Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large crowds', as they say.
Because the Liverpool fans booed the Manchester United player - Patrick Evra - not just once or twice, but throughout the game - in fact every time Evra touched the ball.
The reason being that Evra is the player who complained about being racially abused by Liverpool's star player - Luis Suarez - when the two sides last met.
Which resulted in Suarez being banned for eight games - one of which was yesterday's match at Anfield.
Now normally this wouldn't matter too much, but it does matter on this occasion - because Liverpool fans are taking their lead from the club.
I heard one of the fans on the radio yesterday and he parroted perfectly the line that is being peddled - largely behind the scenes - by Liverpool FC.
1 Luis Suarez really did nothing wrong
2 It was one player's word against another
3 No action should have been taken
4 Evra was just as bad as Suarez
5 Calling someone 'negro' is perfectly acceptable in Suarez's native Uruguay
Now most of this is nonsense - certainly Evra is no angel, but the bottom line is that Suarez knew fine well what he was doing - and to say otherwise is completely disingenuous.
More to the point - the FA conducted a detailed and independent investigation - which concluded that Surarez was culpable, that both players were not equally to blame - and that Evra's version of events was much more credible than the Liverpool player's.
In short they preferred the word of Evra and other witnesses - which is perfectly normal in a disciplinary setting - and decided that on the balance of the evidence Suarez was guilty of the charge of racially abusing another player.
Liverpool FC did not appeal the decision - which was backed up with soundly argued reasons - in a report that ran to 115 pages.
So Liverpool FC are doing the game a great disservice - by encouraging their fans to believe that Suarez was hard done by.
Get over it - and grow up.
