Liverpool striker Luis Suárez who has been found guilty by the FA of racially abusing Patrick Evra has a lucrative boot deal with adidas. Adidas have said that they will wait the outcome of any appeal before making an assessment of the case and for the time being will not make any statement which is undoubtedly sensible given the controversy it has generated.
Liverpool striker Luis Suárez who has been found guilty by the FA of racially abusing Patrick Evra has a lucrative boot deal with adidas. Adidas have said that they will wait the outcome of any appeal before making an assessment of the case and for the time being will not make any statement which is undoubtedly sensible given the controversy it has generated.
However, the defiant stand of Liverpool Football Club and its fans may not increase the chances of an appeal being successful, although it unhdoubtedly reflects a strong sense of injustice. Indeed, the suspension could be increased if the appeal was deemed to be frivolous by the FA.
There has been speculation that the FA has been upset by the contents of the statement released by club and could bring a misconduct charge. However, that would escalate the conflict with one of the country’s leading clubs even further and hopefully could be avoided.
The view of Liverpool is that the evidence base for the charge is insufficient, relying as it does on the account given by Patrick Evra without any supporting evidence in the form of witness statements and television footage. The FA for its part feels that it has to be seen taking a firm stand against racism. For Liverpool fans, ‘The FA is a corrupt disgrace’ as one banner proclaimed at Wigan last night.
From my own experience of Latin America, casual racism in the use of language is accepted there in a way that it is not in Northern Europe. Of course, the game in general is very intense and often associated with violence. I remember watching the police deal with a football riot from the window of my hotel room in Chile.
Admittedly, I have not been to Uruguay but the general point I am making is underscored by an article by Martin Barrow in an article in The Times this morning which discusses a small but very proud nation that has punched above its weight in football terms. Ironically, Uruguay sees itself as a particularly ‘European’ country in Latin America and was once known as the Switzerland of that continent.
If Suárez used the word he has alleged to have done, he should not have done it, even in the heat of the moment. But the point about the standards that apply in Europe could have been made to him without such a long ban. However, perhaps the FA want to make an example of him and that always provokes accusations of unfair treatment.