I admittedly wasn't watching this live (7:45 kick off's on Saturday aren't my thing if Arsenal aren't involved) but I did catch the last 10 minutes and the post match analysis. What to make of all this handshake hoopla?
It's an interesting quandary in my opinion. If you approach it with the opinion that Suarez did utter a racist slang to Evra, then obviously the actions of Suarez (and the entire Kop) are indefensible. "Wait, you dropped the N-Bomb on me and you're gonna act like the d-bag???"
Other side of the coin is if Suarez really didn't say anything at all, and the epithet came flying from one of the bigots in the Kop. I'm putting myself in Suarez's shoes and I really don't know if I would be acting much differently. If someone accused me of using a racial slang in a situation where I had not, I would be infuriated in my own right. Would I shake the hand of someone who lied about me using a racial slur? I doubt it.
So this brings us to what actually happened a couple months back. After a lengthy investigation, the FA was unable to find or produce a single piece of evidence to support Evra's claims. No Liverpool (or even United) players admitted to hearing the alleged slur. So it comes down to he said he said. I have no idea what the standard of review the FA uses in reviewing cases of racism, but I'd imagine the standard being pretty low (not needing a whole lot to prove a claim). With that said, I would expect that you would, at the very least, need some kind of witness corroboration before banning someone for eight games.
I've read that Evra has a history of unwarranted playing of the race card in the past, but cannot find a specific instance to support those claims. In any event, the response from Liverpool has been ... interesting to say the least. Their initial statement offered full support for Suarez, but crossed a few lines if you ask me. They've handled the situation much like a couple of 13 year olds; offering blind support for a man charged with racial abuse, while provoking the alleged victim. Unprofessional indeed. But this brings us back to the original question, would such behavior be appropriate if Suarez is in fact innocent? Does Evra deserve anything less than he is receiving if he fabricated the story? An interesting quandary indeed.
Thoughts?
The more I think about it the more I think that Evra is the villain here. And if I were falsely cast as a racist in front of a global audience I would have done the same as Suarez. The answer is that no one will ever know but to me Evra is a much bigger dirtbag than Suarez
ReplyDeleteyou bring up a valid point; how to best handle a situation when your behavior is judged and observed by a great portion of the world. i am not sure what the correct path of behavior is.
ReplyDeletemy gut says that suarez probably crossed some lines and evra took the opportunity to make a mountain out of a mole hill.... nothing at all to support this, but that is my gut instinct.
if that is true, then no handshake is an acceptable (if somewhat immature) course of action
you bring up a valid point; how to best handle a situation when your behavior is judged and observed by a great portion of the world. i am not sure what the correct path of behavior is.
ReplyDeletemy gut says that suarez probably crossed some lines and evra took the opportunity to make a mountain out of a mole hill.... nothing at all to support this, but that is my gut instinct.
if that is true, then no handshake is an acceptable (if somewhat immature) course of action
poorly handled all around. whether something was lost in translation (as suarez has asserted) or honest to god racial slurs were uttered, at the end of the day these are adult men, role models, celebrities and one would hope they could just get on with playing soccer.
ReplyDeletei feel like the problem was exacerbated by the attitude of kenny dalglish and l'pool supporters. the dude was found guilty, did his time and now we should move forward. suarez has a shit reputation that just got worse and evra has a shit reputation that probably got worse. The cloud of racism hanging over the EPL is embarrassing. at least in italy they don't try to veil their racism... they throw bananas at african players and prevent blacks from playing on the national team. no need to waste time with investigations
In the end, let us not forget that evra is french and therefore unsavory, untrustworthy and unlikable. i would like to hear what raymond domenech thinks of all this.