The Liverpool Thread

[bambam.cam]

What was he charged for then? Calling him black? :/

 

[Ride The Walrus]

"Did Luis Suarez have a history of this kind of behaviour? Absent any witnesses save the accuser, did anyone ask van der Weil or Glen Johnson whether this was par for the course? No evidence, no motive, no witness, no prior record, overly hash sentence. Sounds like the lynching of a minority to me. Absent prior record, this particular episode is by definition out of character. So - any motive? Evidence? Witness? The FA is discriminating against Luis Suarez. He's being lynched in the absence of evidence, motive, witness and record. And the PFA is complicit in this lynching, blindly trusting a judgment passed down with no evidence or explanation."

Taken from someone off Twitter.

 

[Billy]

Superb.

 

[Joel`]

What was he charged for then? Calling him black? :/

A racist comment =/= Being racist.

 

[TheBeardOfZeus]

My question would be:

We don't know the in's and out's fully yet.

The FA surely wouldn't ban someone so severely if there was only one's word against another's.

If they are, it's ridiculous. If they aren't, and the ban for Suarez is withheld, then I can't wait for Liverpool's response then.

 

[Ride The Walrus]

Superb.

Useful input.

 

[Billy]

I have an opinion on the matter, but similarly to when you're trying to be serious but have the giggles; sometimes it's best just to let it out.

 

[Jack Fulham]

did anyone ask van der Weil or Glen Johnson whether this was par for the course?

Liverpool should probably put pics of them and Suarez together on there website.

 

[Dunc]

No, no it's not. Suarez called him 'black', that being racist is completely laughable.. But, it is considered racist. Not wanting somebody to touch you because they are South American is discrimination.. You can't have one rule for one....

Racism is a pretty touchy and taboo subject here, upon signing for an English club, you should be made aware of the cultural differences from where you have come from directly, and also from your home nation. While some of these words might be deemed acceptable in other countries, Suarez should have been aware of the English issue with racism, and there have been enough 'Kick racism out of football' t-shirts and banners flying around since he has been here to devise for himself that it would be a subject to best steer clear of. Racism is as much an issue in Holland as other countries in Europe previously mentioned, with an underlying problem some Dutch people have with African people coming to their country to work. So I imagine some remarks that would be considered racist over here, may have slid over there. Saying that, this country is very multicultural, and we had a similar issue with racism back when people from the Caribbean were moving over here for work, but obviously that was a while ago, and as a country we have become a lot less tolerant of racist behaviour, which is something Suarez has learnt the hard way, and which will be a reminder to all players, current and future, that racism/racist remarks are not tolerated, and how harsh the stance is that we take on these issues.

I imagine if Europe had enslaved 90% of South America, the Evra comment would be taken with a higher degree of seriousness, but I think in general, abusing someone about where they are from is commonplace, while unfortunate, isn't as frowned upon by society as much as a racial remark. Personally, I would rather no one was insulting anyone, but I don't think the 'he said something, so I can say something too' excuse really works, although I am relatively unaware of why you wouldn't want a South American person to touch you, while I am aware of the reasons why someone would be aggrieved at being abused for being of a different colour, considering the history.

Anyway, that was rather long winded, and probably didn't make sense, I suppose it is late. So on that note. I will just summarise by saying:

1. The FA wouldn't hand out this kind of ban/fine on a whim.
2. They must have had a strong indication that what Suarez said was of a racially aggravating nature.
3. If they don't, and Liverpool win the appeal, they will become a laughing stock.
4. The amount of Liverpool fans blindly defending him is crazy, although I suppose everyone condemning him are blind also, as none of us know the full facts and extent to what went on.
5. I need to go to sleep.

 

[Frank]

..is pretty much what the statement was trying to say.

 

[Jake]

How much money does someone have to earn before they think about getting language lessons to speak the native tongue of the country they live in? Regardless of that, is little luis immune to hip hop/rap music, which uses plenty of variations on the N-word? Negrito (regardless of its meaning in uruguay) is NOT an acceptable word in England.

He's got a track record of being a ***** anyway, see face biting incident last year and his recent hand gestures.

 

[Billy]

I'd venture a guess that the majority, if not all, of you had never even heard of the word 'Negrito' before this case.

 

[chris22]

 

[chrisgrogan]

If we lose our appeal or dont appeal who do you want to see play up front or someone come in and do his job?

 

[Jak]

If we lose our appeal or dont appeal who do you want to see play up front or someone come in and do his job?

Carroll and Bellamy to the rescue!....

 

[Billy]

 

[Dunc]

I'd venture a guess that the majority, if not all, of you had never even heard of the word 'Negrito' before this case.

I thought it was a pokemon.

 

[Jack Fulham]

Some Dignity, Please

Liverpool FC were founded in 1892. They've been in existence for nearly 120 years. One would expect a club of such history and tradition to react to even the biggest setback with a degree of dignity, maturity and responsibility.

However, their statement in response to the Luis Suarez verdict read like it was written by a nine-year-old child whose ice cream has just been knocked out of their hand.

Let's take it point by point:

'We find it extraordinary that Luis can be found guilty on the word of Patrice Evra alone...'

Well, we'll stop you right there. Thanks to interviews given by the man himself and information very well leaked to the media by we don't know who (but can take a decent guess), Suarez admitted calling Evra 'something his team-mates at Manchester call him', so the use of the word was never in question.

'It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible - certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations.'

Jesus, we thought this was just the domain of ill-informed idiots on the internet. For what is hopefully the final time, Evra has been caught up in racism rows twice before this incident. On neither of those occasions did Evra make the accusation.

'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.'

We'll say this slowly - the FA did not charge Suarez with 'being a racist'. They charged him with using racist language. A man does not have to be 'a racist' to use racist language.

Luis himself is of a mixed race family background as his grandfather was black...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.'

Seriously? The 'some of my best friends' argument? And as some have already pointed out, claiming a man cannot be racist because his grandfather was black is a little like saying he cannot be misogynist because he had a grandmother.

'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.'

Ah, the classic trick of trying to flip around the blame. Are you trying to defend your man or simply say the other guy was just as bad? Also, we're handing out credit for 'not lying about hearing something you didn't' now, are we?

Football365 has not taken a stand on this matter because we have no idea what actually happened and without all of the evidence, it's a far too complex issue to take lightly.

Liverpool are a fine football club, but please, have some dignity. It's hardly a surprise when an element of their support reacts in a certain manner when the club behaves in this way.

F365 Mediawatch

 

[Athe~]

If anyone actually thinks he called him 'Negrito' because it's OK to call someone that in Uruguay and he just wanted to be friendly with Evra, then he/she is an idiot.

 

[Dunc]

If anyone actually thinks he called him 'Negrito' because it's OK to call someone that in Uruguay and he just wanted to be friendly with Evra, then he/she is an idiot.

I think people using that excuse are quite simply grasping at straws, trying to find anyway to defend Suarez without fully thinking about how, but rather the why (because he is a Liverpool player, and one of their best).