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Luis Suárez's £40,000 fine and eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra angers Liverpool

Liverpool have accused the Football Association of engineering a witch-hunt against striker Luis Suárez after the striker was suspended for eight games.
Luis Suárez's £40,000 fine and eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra angers Liverpool


By Chris Bascombe

8:07PM GMT 20 Dec 2011

Suárez was hit with the hefty ban and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in the Premier League fixture between the clubs on Oct 15.

The Independent Regulatory Commission acting on behalf of the FA ruled Suárez was guilty of misconduct and issued the severe penalties, pending an appeal.

However, there was an instant and enraged response from Anfield to the commission’s announcement.

A Liverpool club statement deemed the findings of the panel “extraordinary” and alleged “the FA were determined to bring charges against Luis Suarez, even before interviewing him at the beginning of November”.

The severity of the punishment has effectively led to open warfare between Liverpool, the FA and Manchester United, with the Merseyside club also suggesting Evra should be charged with racially abusing Suarez during their incendiary confrontation.

Evra claimed Suarez racially abused him “at least 10 times” in an interview conducted immediately after the game with French television station Canal Plus. Kenny Dalglish, the Liverpool manager, defended his player from the outset and personally attended the hearing in Manchester last week.

He argued that the word “negro” – which Suarez admitted using once – does not necessarily have racist connotations in the player’s homeland in Uruguay. Liverpool also claimed Evra had used racial language to insult their striker.

But an FA statement confirmed the commission found Suarez had contravened rule E3 (2) of their regulations and issued the severe penalties. The statement read: “An Independent Regulatory Commission has today found a charge of misconduct against Luis Suarez proven, and have issued a suspension for a period of eight matches as well as fining him £40,000, pending appeal.”

Liverpool are considering whether to appeal against the decision, which would keep Suarez out of football for over a month and have a serious impact on the club’s top four and trophy ambitions.

They have 14 days in which to lodge an appeal, which means the South American will be available for tonight’s Premier League game at Wigan, but there is a dilemma for the club as they consider their next course of action.

An appeal will force Suarez to miss both legs of the Carling Cup semi-final with Manchester City, the second leg of which is played on Jan 25.

Liverpool will believe protecting the tarnished reputation of their star striker is of more importance than the games he might miss by challenging the FA’s decision.

It is clear that Suarez retains the full support of everyone at Anfield, including the club’s owners, who are perplexed by the harshness of the punishment.

While Manchester United were making no comment on the findings, Liverpool issued a damning statement attacking the judgment and querying the validity of the commission’s conclusions.

They also suggested Evra should have faced race abuse charges of his own, suggesting there were further incidents in the fixture which the FA have refused to investigate.

“Liverpool Football Club is very surprised and disappointed with the decision of the Football Association Commission,” read the club statement.

“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 team-mates 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.”

Liverpool also accused the French defender of lacking credibility in his evidence, a public criticism which is sure to rile United and may prompt more recrimination.

“It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible – certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations,” said the Liverpool statement.

“We do not recognise the way in which Luis Suarez has been characterised. 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.”

Dalglish released a statement on Twitter stating: “Very disappointed with today’s verdict. This is the time when Luis Suarez needs our support. Let’s not let him walk alone.”

Suarez, too, expressed his disappointment, saying: “Today is a very difficult and painful day for me and my family.”

A three-man panel, consisting of Paul Goulding QC; Brian Jones, chairman of the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA; and former Sunderland manager Denis Smith, knew they were dealing with one of the most inflammatory cases in English football history given the rivalry between the clubs involved.

It took five days of deliberating to decide Suarez’s fate, but a saga which began last October is likely to run on with Liverpool refusing to willingly accept the conclusions.

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Liverpool FC Statement

Liverpool Football Club is very surprised and disappointed with the decision of the Football Association Commission to find Luis Suarez guilty of the charges against him.

We look forward to the publication of the Commission's Judgment. We will study the detailed reasons of the Commission once they become available, but reserve our right to appeal or take any other course of action we feel appropriate with regards to this situation.

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.

The Club takes extremely seriously the fight against all forms of discrimination and has a long and successful track record in work relating to anti-racist activity and social inclusion. We remain committed to this ideal and equality for all, irrespective of a person's background.

LFC considers racism in any form to be unacceptable - without compromise. It is our strong held belief, having gone over the facts of the case, that Luis Suarez did not commit any racist act. It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible - certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations.

It is key to note that Patrice Evra himself in his written statement in this case said 'I don't think that Luis Suarez is racist'. The FA in their opening remarks accepted that Luis Suarez was not racist.

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.

He has played with black players and mixed with their families whilst with the Uruguay national side and was Captain at Ajax Amsterdam of a team with a proud multi-cultural profile, many of whom became good friends.

It seems incredible to us that a player of mixed heritage should be accused and found guilty in the way he has based on the evidence presented. We do not recognise the way in which Luis Suarez has been characterised.

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.

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. Luis, to his credit, actually told the FA he had not heard the insult.

[GeMiNiZzzzZzz]

Really fucked isn't it.
They have intended so even before he was up to court.

Now in appeal..even so I still expect 5 games or more banned.

.........

[rahl]

Fucked up English suits trying to prove to the world they are better than the rest of the world.

Now is this racist too?!

[Regaine]

First time in my life I have seen such harsh punishment coming from the English FA . I believe there are certain people in the English FA out to get Suarez out of the way as they see him as a real threat.

I believe Liverpool FC will strongly made an appeal to have the sentence reduce given the fact that this is his first offence in England. Since his arrival he had contributed much to the game .

I believe now we have a striker crisis. With AC still not up to par and always on the bench who can we turn to for goals ? CB , Maxi and Kuyt need to be given more playing time . If not we may just have to go out and buy 2 more strikers in the January transfer window.

[GeMiNiZzzzZzz]

I do not know what threat he has to FA at all.
If he is a threat..what about silva, mata whom I see as on par with LS in Epl.
Maybe they are white ...as what Rahl had mentioned..maybe the fucked up FA also racist

[Regaine]

Threat is that some of the other English rival teams are happy to see him suspended as they are unable to contain and control him whenever he plays .

[pirambi]

Woke up to a fantastic News. The cheat got what he deserved. all the fools will be pondering here...

[pirambi]

The cheat escaped when he handballed against the spirit of the game..
Now he got what he deser ves. Unfortunately the fools have been always liking those who play against the spirit of the game,, We can see the support flowing for that cheat here...

[pirambis]

Originally Posted by pirambi

Woke up to a fantastic News. The cheat got what he deserved. all the fools will be pondering here...

I agree

[pirambis]

Originally Posted by pirambi

The cheat escaped when he handballed against the spirit of the game..
Now he got what he deser ves. Unfortunately the fools have been always liking those who play against the spirit of the game,, We can see the support flowing for that cheat here...

Well said, the fools never change

[bochapsing]

Idoits...!

From make themselve look like fools when appealling for rooney's red card, now this bunch of idoits have outdone themselve again...

I will be surprised if their great england captain gets away with more than a verbal warning for his own racist case... They always have a different set of rule for THEIR man utd and england stars... They might as well change BPL to MUL (man utd lge)...

Time for AC perform while standing in during LS suspension, turns this injustice into extra motivation n do our talking on the pitch...

YNWA...

[pirambi]

Originally Posted by bochapsing

Idoits...!

From make themselve look like fools when appealling for rooney's red card, now this bunch of idoits have outdone themselve again...

I will be surprised if their great england captain gets away with more than a verbal warning for his own racist case... They always have a different set of rule for THEIR man utd and england stars... They might as well change BPL to MUL (man utd lge)...

Time for AC perform while standing in during LS suspension, turns this injustice into extra motivation n do our talking on the pitch...

YNWA...

If so, who asked u to follow. The fools always have a complaining attitude. Dnt forget he was also banned by dutch league.

[rahl]

Originally Posted by bochapsing

Idoits...!

From make themselve look like fools when appealling for rooney's red card, now this bunch of idoits have outdone themselve again...

That's the hypocrisy of England for you.

Now we will see if John Terry will be punished for being the great moral captain of England that he is.

[beck7777]

Originally Posted by bochapsing

Idoits...!

From make themselve look like fools when appealling for rooney's red card, now this bunch of idoits have outdone themselve again...

I will be surprised if their great england captain gets away with more than a verbal warning for his own racist case... They always have a different set of rule for THEIR man utd and england stars... They might as well change BPL to MUL (man utd lge)...

..

That's why King Kenny has the foresight!

He knew the FA will be up to no do, therefore quote Booney case as example!

Everyone saw what he did on live TV and they fought tooth and nail to appeal...

Nobody heard Suarez said anything, only words of a black shit (Evra only) and they bomb him...

Big joke!