NFR - Suarez banned for 8 games: Report Released 31 December 2011

[The King]

F as in Fulham

BREAKING NEWS: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra. He is handed a £40,000 fine and an eight-game ban.

By the BBC. Justice is done.

[Burt]

Blimey. The football authorities actually doing something right.

I wonder if it will be reduced to one game and a £5 fine on appeal though.

Sets a precedent for John Terry too, I guess, should be interesting to see what comes out of the investigation following his "incident" at QPR.

[horse1031]

8 games is a lot.  Must have had some pretty incriminating evidence towards Suarez.  I bet the Pool fans are freaking out.  He is probably going to be out another amount of games for giving our fans the finger.  There season is pretty much down the tubes.

http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/Disciplinary/NewsAndFeatures/2011/luis-suarez-20-12-11

[cebu]

8 games is a lot.  Must have had some pretty incriminating evidence towards Suarez.  I bet the Pool fans are freaking out.  He is probably going to be out another amount of games for giving our fans the finger.  There season is pretty much down the tubes.

http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/Disciplinary/NewsAndFeatures/2011/luis-suarez-20-12-11

Didn't Bairdinho get a 2 match ban last season for giving a 2-fingered salute? I expect Liverpool will argue Suarez should get a lesser punishment as he only used one finger ...   

[SP3]

He can't count.

[zzamora]

And more bans for swearing at our fans?

[timmyg]

Liverpool's statement is just...wow. http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/liverpool-fc-statement-8

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.

[RidgeRider]

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.

What does this mean? If you are of mixed heritage that you get a free pass? This is truly an idiotic statement by Liverpool that I guess they think that he is not capable of doing what he did because he is of mixed race? Am I missing something?

[Ron Sheepskin]

This is the same club whose fans confidently accused the press of photoshopping Suarez's finger?

That statement is very strongly worded - I think this is going to turn into a huge fight between the scousers and the FA

[zzamora]

This is the same club whose fans confidently accused the press of photoshopping Suarez's finger?

That statement is very strongly worded - I think this is going to turn into a huge fight between the scousers and the FA

Its completely ridiculous- how you can excuse using the word "negro" as it means something else in your country is stupid.

You live in OUR country, OUR rules. If i can shoot someone in, lets say the Antarctic, because there are no rules, can I come here and shoot someone, and get off because its allowed in my country? No.

Mixed race this, "Evra says suarez isn't racist" (Yes, but being racist and making racist remarks are two different things completely) , and you can't charge evra if suarez says he didnt hear anything.


Stupid liverpool.

[Jack Fulham]

Liverpool's statement in certainly interesting. They say Evra is not credible but then quote him saying Suarez is not racist. I don't think Suarez is racist but you don't have to be racist to make a racist remark. Liverpool must remember he's being charged for making a racist remark, not for being racist.

[Scrumpy]

This is a sensitive subject, so I'd like to stress that I'm not racist and I think racism should be extinguished from football completely. I think an 8 match ban sends out a very clear message from the F.A.

but...

if it really is one man's word against another (as Liverpool state), then how can they find him guilty? There must be more evidence than this surely?

[AlFayedsChequebook]

This is a sensitive subject, so I'd like to stress that I'm not racist and I think racism should be extinguished from football completely. I think an 8 match ban sends out a very clear message from the F.A.

but...

if it really is one man's word against another (as Liverpool state), then how can they find him guilty? There must be more evidence than this surely?

The evidence is that Suarez admitted to saying 'negrito'. Don't know how they can defend it when he has pleaded guilty already!

[Alternative]

Stupid decision. Over the top penalty.
You can insult Zidane in a World Cup and get him sent off -but nothing happens to you.
But get accused of racism in England, with no corroboration, and they throw the book at you.
Unless there is a punch up, the FA should stay out of this. Evra has previous form with this sort of accusation too.

[Alternative]

This is a sensitive subject, so I'd like to stress that I'm not racist and I think racism should be extinguished from football completely. I think an 8 match ban sends out a very clear message from the F.A.

but...

if it really is one man's word against another (as Liverpool state), then how can they find him guilty? There must be more evidence than this surely?

The evidence is that Suarez admitted to saying 'negrito'. Don't know how they can defend it when he has pleaded guilty already!

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premiership/gus-poyet-negrito-isnt-an-offensive-term-16082510.html

[leonffc]

Stupid decision. Over the top penalty.
You can insult Zidane in a World Cup and get him sent off -but nothing happens to you.
But get accused of racism in England, with no corroboration, and they throw the book at you.
Unless there is a punch up, the FA should stay out of this. Evra has previous form with this sort of accusation too.

Agree that Evra has form but Zidane has NEVER made a complaint and NEVER said publicly what Matterazzi said to him so you can't really use that as a bench mark.

[finnster01]

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.

What does this mean? If you are of mixed heritage that you get a free pass? This is truly an idiotic statement by Liverpool that I guess they think that he is not capable of doing what he did because he is of mixed race? Am I missing something?

You are not missing anything Mr RR, I know it pretty much first hand.

My fiance is mixed, I personally often get poo walking in Harlem by some old black power left overs. I should just whoop their arses but  know better, but sometimes I giggle if they knew what they were messing with. Some of these geezers have seen what I have seen but I have 10 years plus on them in my favour so I like the odds.

Anyway, I hope that his 8 games does not make that twit get a small waiver for flipping the finger at us.  

[HatterDon]

has anyone ever gotten a ban this large for an offence that WASN'T violent or drug-related? I'm stunned.

[AlFayedsChequebook]

Stupid decision. Over the top penalty.
You can insult Zidane in a World Cup and get him sent off -but nothing happens to you.
But get accused of racism in England, with no corroboration, and they throw the book at you.
Unless there is a punch up, the FA should stay out of this. Evra has previous form with this sort of accusation too.

So in uruguay it is fine. Ok, but we are in England and he repeatedly said it to Evra to wind him up. Evra is French, not uruguayan or even south american, so why should he get the context?

I personally applaud the FA for standing up against racism. You may think it is not an issue, but the sad fact is that even in 21st century England, it still exists.

Would you really be happy if the premiership ended up like Russia or La Liga where monkey chants and banana's are commonplace?

[finnster01]

Stupid decision. Over the top penalty.
You can insult Zidane in a World Cup and get him sent off -but nothing happens to you.
But get accused of racism in England, with no corroboration, and they throw the book at you.
Unless there is a punch up, the FA should stay out of this. Evra has previous form with this sort of accusation too.

So in uruguay it is fine. Ok, but we are in England and he repeatedly said it to Evra to wind him up. Evra is French, not uruguayan or even south american, so why should he get the context?

I personally applaud the FA for standing up against racism. You may think it is not an issue, but the sad fact is that even in 21st century England, it still exists.

Would you really be happy if the premiership ended up like Russia or La Liga where monkey chants and banana's are commonplace?

:clap_hands: