How can the FA impose an 8 match ban on a player on the say so of another? This is what the Suarez incident with Evra boils down to. If Suarez is to be found guilty on flimsy uncoroberated heresay evidence what punishment will Evra receive for admitting that he used racial insults towards Suarez? Yeah I thought not! The FA have gone down the road of punishing a player simply on the word of an opponent and in the bargain possibly destroying his character as well. Racism must not ever be condoned but a case has to be proven beyond reasonable doubt and this simply hasn't been. I can see the huge can of worms that this action will cause in the long run. The FA has just become a joke pandering to the powerful and in many cases simply ignoring its own rules. Take the case of Rooney's 3 match Euro ban for example. If any football club in this country had asked the FA to reduce a 3 match ban in such a way the FA would have increased the ban on the grounds of making a frivilous appeal! The FA is a complete joke, we slam FIFA but the FA needs root and branch reform. Vested interests always win the day.
It seems to me that if they have no evidence then how can they charge him at all, and if they do have stonewall proof what happened to 'Kicking Racism Out Of Football'.
Weighty, they have no conclusive evidence only Evra's word and Evra actually admitted in his evidence that he used racially abusive language as well. 2 Points the first being how can this be taken as conclusive proof and second why isn't Evra being banned for the same offence?
I agree i'm just saying that an 8 match ban is not 'kicking out of football'. It seems to be that the FA are trying to appear tough but not really standing by what they say. This case seems to have been made as one mans word against another so how they have come to the conclusion i don't know, but in my opinion if you say Racism is not acceptable in football then don't accept it. An 8 match ban says that Racism is frowned upon in football.
Fair point Weighty I just think that this whole sorry saga will have huge ramifications in the future and we haven't even got to the John Terry case yet!
Hasn't Suarez admitted that he used the 'N' word 10 times and that in Uruguay its accepted as good humoured jibe in the right context, and all the FA looked at was the reaction of Evra to deem that this wasn't some friendly banter? Also you have to question, are they going to rename the campaign 'Kick Racism out of Football - Well only for 8 games'
not that anyone knows exactly what has happened until we have all the information, but guru is totally right - suarez admitted saying it. it isn't one word against another if he admitted it. i don't care if its acceptable in his country - it isn't in THIS country and THIS is where he works. if he said it in an office to someone he'd be sacked. personally, i feel its all down to context. if he kept using that word then its a bloody disgrace that he only gets 8 games! he should be sacked by his club. it is NOT a 'term of endearment' in that context!! if it was the once then it could have been deemed 'playful', even if we find it pretty obscene. then a ban should be reduced. its his clubs frankly childish response in their bizarre statement last night that should be investigated further! for me, its liverpool football club who come out of all this in the worst possible light.
I have just been reading through some of the stories, apparently Evra has admitted saying a racism term to suarez before all this, but wasn't heard. So surely Evra must be punished as well, A racist term heard or not is still a racist term. Also apparently De Gea used the same term to Evra during the game yet that is OK to Evra!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What really infuriates me is this double standards when it comes to racism, if one person uses a term its ok and doesn't offend somebody, yet if somebody else uses the term to the same person it does offend them! how does that work, surely they can't find it that offensive in the first place! Racism needs to be kick out no question, but also people that use the racism card as a tool of convience needs to be looked at as well.
we may have read a different piece guru but from what i've read evra insulted suarez (which is bad in itself) but it was not a racial slur. he should still be punished but it wasn't quite the same thing
It was something to do with his country of origin, which to my mind would have to be classed as racist. apparently i read another piece that said that Evra said to a ref "You are only booking me because i'm black" It really does seem that he uses the race card with disregard, and frankly its just as bad as the racist comments.
Absolutely agree Guru One of my best mates who is black uses the "N" word when addressing his mates at times. I think we need a bit of context here and its all very well Supers for you to lambast Liverpool Football Club but their statement makes a great deal of sense. It is one man's word against another in this case. No other player made a complaint in favour of Evra so are we saying that any player who cries rasicm against an opposing player must surely be right!
I really don't get this whole case. Isn't Suarez of Mixed Race? And being cynical as I'm sure most people are that John Terry will be unlikely to receive such a sentence, simply because he is a) English b) National Team Captain and c) has no previous. I think the Suarez thing is partly down to his controversial actions prior to the event and therefore people already see him in a bad light, but then Evra is no angel after his disgraceful behavior at the World Cup i was surprised he's allowed back in the National Team, If I was French (Thankfully I'm not) then I wouldn't want him anywhere near the national team ever again. I think this whole incident only identifies the bent and crookedness of the FA and it will be very interesting what happens from here, have they set a precedent or will there be backtracking and behind the scenes deals in future.
he admitted it so they BOTH agree he said it. he deserves to be punished and so does evra if what he has read is true. i'm sure evra is no saint but you cannot condone what suarez has been found guilty of, regardless of his background. for me that is no excuse - he should be told by his employers. in my view, liverpool's statement was too emotionally charged and irresponsible. to be honest, their manager does himself no favours the way he carries on. one thing is for sure, the actions of some people in this country never cease to amaze me! all is not well...
Liverpool have every right to support their player under these circumstances. I suppose Lambert would just automatically fire a Norwich player under these circumstances but then again I forgot just how holier than thou you lot are.....!
bloody hell warky, it isn't about loyalty! the guy made a racist comment to a player on the pitch!! i'm not saying they should sack him, i'm merely saying that if i made that comment in a work place i would be sacked. it has nothing to do with loyalty - they should have tried to find out what went on rather than blindly defend him. i have no problem with them trying to help him now the verdict has been made but they seem intent on defending what he said - that is hugely wrong. instead they should be telling him and anybody else they sign in the future that they can't go around saying that sort of thing! its simple.
just to add, i do not believe suarez is racist - nothing i've heard or read suggests that he is. he simply made a mistake, but its still a bad mistake that needed to be dealt with and his club haven't and still don't appear to take it seriously
King of portman road,.............. 'If I was French (Thankfully I'm not)'........................ That smacks of racism.
If only it was that black and white Supers (pardon the pun!) There is a cultural aspect to this as Suarez is Uruguyan and the word that he used is not regarded in his culture as being racist so I think it got lost in translation. Its all very well to sit in judgement on someone from another culture, smacks of a bit of racism to me. I wonder if our beloved upstanding FA will now give John Terry a similar lengthy ban and strip him of the Captaincy and indeed ban him from ever wearing the England shirt ever again! Knowing this bunch of buffoons I very much doubt it they will weasle out of it as always!
i totally understand that he is from a different culture but he is in a different country with a different perspective on this issue. there is no way the fa could say 'well, he's not from here so we'll let him off'... it has to be the same rule for everyone otherwise nobody knows where they stand. what has annoyed me the most is liverpool's stance throughout this episode. that its a 'term of endearment' and 'jovial' is absurd in the context of a heated derby! he was insulting evra, he wasn't joking about with him, they aren't buddies - he was purposely being provocative. he knew what he was doing in that respect! it may not be a word which would have the same ramifications in his own country but he does not work in his own country! you hear stories of people going abroad and being arrested for breaking rules we wouldn't even raise an eyebrow to. why is that any different? the only difference i can see with the terry incident is that it was reported to the police and isn't an fa matter (yet). if proven guilty, he should be charged and dealt with severely. i guess the fa cannot act until they know the outcome of the court case as it could jeopardise any sentence, so we will wait and see. i still cannot believe the fa allowed him to not only play for england while under police investigation, but to let him captain the nation!! i mean, for **** sake...
