Luis Suarez Will Admit Calling Evra ‘Negro’ Once, No More Offensive Than Calling Kuyt ‘Blondie’

Chris Wright

15th, December 2011

35 Comments

By Chris Wright

The FA have opened a two-day disciplinary hearing into the accusations, counter-accusations and subsequent charges of alleged racist abuse that were levelled at Luis Suarez by Patrice Evra following Manchester United’s trip to Anfield back in October.

Suarez has told media back in Uruguay that he only called Evra ‘something his team-mates at [United] call him’, while Evra himself has claimed (to Canal Plus) that Suarez called him a ‘certain word at least ten times’ over the course of the afternoon.

Nothing more is really known about the to-ings and fro-ings of the hearing other than the verdict is due on Friday, but the papers have gone big in speculating what Liverpool’s line of defence will be this morning, with reports that Kenny Dalglish is set to make an appearance to deliver a character reference on Suarez’s behalf, and that the club will call on South American language experts in order to prove that the striker’s choice of phrasing wasn’t motivated by racial intolerance.

In the Telegraph, chief scribe Henry Winter has even gone as far as suggesting that the club’s lawyers will try to prove that he only used the word once and that, given Uruguayan sensibilities, Suarez calling Evra a ‘negro’ is no more offensive than him calling Dirk Kuyt a ‘blondie’.

Yep. ‘Blondie’. Make of that what you will. May I suggest a toasted bullshit sandwich?

Posted in Liverpool, Man Utd

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35 Comments

  1. Mr. Chopper says:

    I’m predicting a 10 game ban, hereby ending Liverpool’s season. It’ll go down as one of the great injustices in Liverpool’s history, along with the 5089 others.

    jk

  2. bazal says:

    Blondie was the name of Hitlers Dog
    -coincidence?

  3. Stewart says:

    Where’s Cantona when you need him? The Bruce Lee of racial abuse punishment.

  4. Sameer says:

    How is That more offensive than ‘Fucking Black Cunt’…? Seriously man,

  5. Questionable says:

    In South America negro is used quite regularly, especially in talking about a person of any dark skin tone. Almost like us calling someone black that is black therefore i could see how it is somehow justifiable, albeit they do tend to call Asians chino’s down there as well so have it as you will i suppose lol

  6. Dragan says:

    How does Daldlish think that saying suarez is a nice guy is going to change anything? we can all just watch the cheat against ghana, biting incidents and about 700 other things to see the guy is a reaaal nice guy… class class class. What goes around comes around i say..

  7. Phiwe says:

    By calling a person of dark skin tone ‘black’, you are being racist. my skin tone isn’t black, it’s brown…but I agree with Sameer. I’d rather be called a negro than a fucking black cunt. If Suarez gets a lengthy ban, so should Terry

  8. fafaf says:

    Phiwe is it racist to say white then too?

  9. Archbishop Betty Snagcock says:

    jesus christ did no one watch the full terry clip?

    saying “did you think i just called you a black cunt?” is not racist ffs

  10. JJ says:

    Apparently the referee was also racist towards Evra. Evra told him the only reason he got a yellow card was because he was black.

  11. Yo ! says:

    It’s not much the word negro itself that is a shock since we know that in it’s commonly used in South America for e.g. It’s the context that makes it a bit more insulting. Suarez calling Evra “negro” several times in this kind of game can not be friendly. Yes the word negro itself is not racist, but one can argue that the way Suarez used it is. Besides can’t we all assume that Suarez has been living in Europe for enough time to know what he meant ?

  12. __wowza says:

    they should just shake hands.

  13. McRillen says:

    Acctualy in Uruguay & Argentina it is not uncommon to call a black guy negro because it simply means black. these kinds of nicknames is very common. for example Alvaro Recoba was called “the chinese” because of his eyes & Saviola “the little rabbitt” because of his big front teeth.

  14. Al says:

    Javi Hernandez referred to one of his mexican team mates as el negro in an interview a year ago which is what Suarez meant by his Man U team mates call him the same thing. A Brazilian world cup winner was nicknamed “el Negro” can’t think of his real name. Its in common useage in South America and is no worse than calling John Terry a fucking adulterous wanker, sorry asking John Terry if he thaught you called him a fucking adulterous wanker

    • Chris says:

      @Al: That may be so, but seeing as – to the best of my knowledge – Suarez isn’t on familiar terms with Evra, it’s hard to believe that whatever he said could have been on anything other than deliberately offensive terms.

  15. Degs says:

    Calling a black person ‘black’ isn’t racist.
    Calling them ‘a black *something*’ is.

  16. Fart Master Arse says:

    All over the entire world, it is unbelievable to me how all people seem to come to black peoples defence. It seems as if they are the medias darlings in sports, entertainment, and politics. Not much gets said about any other race but if a black person is insulted, all hell breaks loose. I wonder why this is?

  17. Al says:

    @Chris: he was fairly familiar with him as he had him in his pocket all day!
    Seriously though I don’t think it was as abusive as Mathew Simmons telling Cantona to “go away Frenchman, its an early bath for you” at Selhurst park

  18. sloth says:

    Playing in the Prem, you agree to behave within the cultural norms of England, and that means he can’t run about calling black people “blackie,” regardless of what positive or negative connotations that may or may not have back in old country.

    Think of Clerks 2. Randall’s grandmother affectionately called him a “porch monkey,” but when he tries to “bring it back” in the real world he offends the fuck out of some poor customers.

    5 game ban for him, 10 games for Terry.

  19. AJM says:

    Had Liverpool/Dalglish/Suarez etc just said when this first came out “Luis apologizes for any offense he may have caused. It was unintentional, let’s make peace etc” then the whole world would have moved on long ago. Instead the club has fought this like it’s somehow Suarez’ birthright to use such language, no matter the context or situation. It seem now they claim this to be a misunderstanding or something lost in translation but when it first came out, they took the approach of claiming full innocence or that Evra has some history of making racist claims (he does not). They could have stopped this long ago but handled this very poorly.

  20. Agreed says:

    @Fart Master Arse: Totally agreed. I understand it is totally inappropriate for someone to attack a person of another skin colour but if Evra called Suarez a white *something* there wouldn’t be such an uproar, would there

  21. ed says:

    as a latin american, the term negro in spanish can be endearing, people tend to call other people by their most notable trait. for example, “gordo” for fattie, “guero” for white person, “chino” for an asian, etc. In this case in a heated derby, the use of negro was clearly used as a slur. Suarez should just buck up and take the charges like a man.

  22. tonys says:

    fart master arse:

    It’s called slavery? You ever heard of it?

  23. Jay says:

    @fart master arse: Thanks to tonys’ reply, there is some light to your ignorance. This is the problem, sheer ignorance. Education is the key….

  24. Fat Nakago says:

    Suarez should have just called Evra a FACKIN’ FRENCHIE!

    But I’m sure Evra would have taken umbrage at that as well.

  25. AL says:

    i’M wHITE AND I’VE MARRIED A WOMAN THAT’S BLACK AND AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED I THINK THIS IS JUST A LOAD OF BALONEY.

  26. Anonymous says:

    I think it’s funny how a lot of people are claiming “it’s a South American thing”. Have any of you ever been? One of the most racist places I’ve ever experienced, Latin America. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely place, but they are far more racist, and open about it, than we are. Not to mention that doesn’t excuse Suarez from “not knowing” it was offensive, he’s been in Europe since 2006, so he must know the customs by now. And if you actually watched the match you would see there was no love lost, and that he could have only used the term to wind Evra up. Hate people making excuses for this sort of thing. I would have thought it’s a pretty black and white issue, especially given Suarez’s track record, but I suppose the scouse are deluded as it is (this is our year, now celebrating it’s 21st anniversary).

  27. McRico says:

    @Mr. Chopper – Injustice???? Your having a laugh. Rules are rules. Deal with it! We do!

    KICK OUT RACISM!

  28. jimbo jones says:

    how come a black man can call another black man a n****r or negro yet a white man can’t? how come the black community can have “black woman” magazine or “music of black origin” awards therefore highlighting their colour and isolating themselves from white people yet white people would be hung for bringing out a “white woman” magazine or “music of white origin” awards?!

    I am not racist at all, colour does not matter however i feel there are many examples in this world where black people either use or abuse their position, at the same time as creating problems from their actions. Racism is always about the white person abusing the black but the other way round is NEVER mentioned because if a black person called a white person a White B4$tard they wouldn’t think “oh my god they’re racially abusing me” they’d think “you’re a wanker” and move on.

    All races and colours, sexes and abilities need to grow up and get on with it. There are so many more problems in the world than these!

  29. Dick Cheesel says:

    Scouse candlelit vigil here we come

  30. Jimbo says:

    Jimbo, how old are you? Honestly, think before you type a comment. By your logic, will you also complain that gay people publish gay magazines, or Latin America has its own Grammys?

    Simply put, it is about being a member of a group which is different to the majority.

    …I am disappointed in myself for bothering to respond to that.

  31. Andrei says:

    To Jimbo no2. I think you are missing Jimbo Jones point. If a white man publishes “whitey magazine” there would be an uproar. But Black entertainment television and these things which black people are allowed to do because people are afraid to step on black ppl toes (again) is hypocritical nonsense.

    Does everyone here recognize that race is social creation, not biological. There is nothing that separates white man from black. But that aside I can understand the claims of “negro” being a common word where he is from. In my country (Trinidad and Tobago) describing someone as negro is just that, as you would describe someone as white, slim or fat. I was actually suprised to realize calling someone a negro is an offense in Britain. If I ever visited I would have committed the same offense.

    That being said. Suarez has lived their long enough to know that it is offensive. And if he said it in order to rile up Evra knowing it is considered racist. Then he deserves it. I’m a liverpool btw. Awaiting the release of the FA statement.

  32. Andrei says:

    Just to add. My point about it being hypocritical is that Black ppl continue to do things to separate themselves but if another race does it they are racist.

  33. Lucu says:

    Suarez is a good guy. He only use his hand against Ghana. He had bite PSV player and say something to Evra. He did not kick someone ass…

  34. Andrei says:

    You do know that all footballers insult each other on the field right? It is a tactic to distract them and try to gain an advantage. Just most do not overstep the racial boundary.

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