By Alan Duffy
Oh dear, here we go again! Despite being told to keep schtum on the issue by his Liverpool bosses, striker Luis Suarez has had a right pop at Man Utd on Uruguayan TV, blaming the Red Devils’ ‘political power’ for influencing the FA’s decision to ban him over the infamous Patrice Evra race row. In the interview with TV show RR Gol, the Suarez said:
“It was so hard what happened to me. I don’t show my emotions on the field, but outside I do – and I cried a lot with all the Evra stuff. The trial week was so complicated for me. My wife and I cried a lot during that week.”
“People at the club are sure that it was a way that Manchester United used to put me out of the team and stop Liverpool. But in England, Man United has this political power, and you have to respect that and shut your mouth.”
“It was a misunderstanding, what happened between me and Evra at Old Trafford when we were to shake hands. In fact, I think it was all arranged against me again, as it had happened with the punishment. I promised my wife, the manager and the directors that I was going to shake my hand with Evra. Why not?, I thought, because I had no problems with him.
“I had been punished because of him, but I had no problems with shaking hands. But I was not forced to greet him. I had no problems with Evra. It was only a handshake and I was OK with that.
“The media in England showed the moment when I passed in front of him, but they didn’t see that he had his hand low before. Only the media in Uruguay and Spain showed that I wanted to shake his hand.”
It looks like this particular race row won’t be going away quite yet. While the claim that United have a lot of political clout in English football is nothing new, it’s sure to stir up one heck of a hornets’ nest in the north-west.