Suarez saga shows it’s time to give handshake the flick
Columnist By Luke Doherty, 13 Feb 2012 Luke Doherty is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- EPL, football, Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra, racism
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Let’s be honest. Expecting Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez to shake hands so soon after their recent bad blood was always going to end badly. It took less than two minutes on the pitch together for the rivals to re-ignite their feud.
Evra was prepared to shake the Liverpool striker’s hand, but Suarez was having none of it. The football world had waited all week to see how the moment would play out, and Evra was livid at the snub.
He grabbed at his rival’s arm, as teammates moved quickly to settle the situation.
Then, inside the first 30 seconds of the match, Suarez chased a ball that was a little too far in front of him and Evra launched into a reckless challenge.
Instead of collecting Suarez he collided heavily with teammate Rio Ferdinand, who collapsed to the ground in agony.
It was a red mist moment.
Add to that a reported scuffle in the tunnel at half time, and then Evra’s deliberate celebrations right in front of Suarez after the game, and you have a whole lot of friction in the current season, and an ugly outing for football in the history books.
The two managers didn’t cover themselves in glory either. Sir Alex Ferguson labelled Suarez a disgrace, and Kenny Dalglish claimed he didn’t see the handshake snub before questioning whether reporters had the right to ask him about it.
Ugly, ugly, ugly all round.
Despite all of the drama, just about everyone in Manchester colours claimed the situation could’ve been avoided if Suarez and Evra had buried the hatchet before kick-off.
But was that ever really going to happen?
On one side you have Evra, who feels he was racially abused by Suarez when the pair last played against each other in the Premier League. It’s an unacceptable act anywhere from the football field to the street. Evra has every right to feel annoyed, hurt and just about any other emotion. He should also be commended for trying to let proceedings go as planned.
It’s a complicated situation though. On the other side you have Suarez who denies ever racially abusing Evra. He has been backed up by a club who also denies he abused the Frenchman.
Say what you will about cultural differences, and what was or wasn’t said during their last meeting, but the fall-out was predictable. It was a confrontation between two men, and the evidence boiled down to one’s word against another.
The outcome was that Suarez served eight matches and had his reputation ripped to shreds. Why then would you make these two try and shake hands in front of the world?
The pre-game handshake should’ve been cancelled.
Recently, officials decided to get rid of the tradition when Chelsea took on Queens Park Rangers. Chelsea captain John Terry had been accused of racially abusing QPR defender Anton Ferdinand.
It was the right move to avoid the handshake then, and it would’ve been the right move at the weekend. Would you really miss the handshake if it was binned for good?
Yes, Suarez should’ve extended his hand. It was a silly response that inflamed things past the point of common sense. But putting both men in that situation in the first place was equally ridiculous.
You can follow Luke Doherty on Twitter @Luke_Doherty and on Sky News Australia.
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- Explore:
- EPL, football, Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra, racism
February 13th 2012 @ 7:33am
Fussball ist unser leben said | February 13th 2012 @ 7:33am | Report comment
So because of a couple of professional players in England act like spoilt kids, the football world should stop the noble tradition of shaking hands before the game? Wow – talk about an over-reaction and the wrong message.
As one of the world’s most famous footballers Tweeted last night (his use of capital letters):
“Shaking of hands before n after games shouldn’t be eradicated.It’s a GLOBAL game that teaches our CHILDREN RESPECT to OFFICIALS and PLAYERS” (Tim Cahill, Everton & Australia)
Totally agree with Tim and, in my opinion, shaking hands before the game is one of the (many) things that separates Football from other sports that prefer the more neanderthal push & shove mock machismo before the game.
February 13th 2012 @ 8:49am
UK Steve said | February 13th 2012 @ 8:49am | Report comment
FIUL – the bottom line is, the compulsory (almost) shaking of hands is phoney. Like Gary Neville was saying at half-time of that match, if I don’t like a player then I don’t want to shake his hand before a match. If players really want to shake hands, then they can do it in the tunnel.
Tim Cahlll is blowing hot air, because as soon as the game starts, most soccer players treat the officials with as much disrespect as they can muster.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:44am
Fussball ist unser leben said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:44am | Report comment
UK Steve
Not sure about you but, in my working life, I reckon 50% of my handshakes have been phoney. I was taught it was impolite and poor form to refuse the hand of friendship from even of your most ardent enemy.
Recently, at a social function, I had the misfortune to be introduced to LIB MP, Kevin Andrews, who has views about refugees & immigration that make me feel ill. But, when Andrews offered his hand in friendship, of course, I reciprocated.
February 13th 2012 @ 8:56am
Midfielder said | February 13th 2012 @ 8:56am | Report comment
What Fuss said
February 13th 2012 @ 9:14am
Stevo said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:14am | Report comment
+1
February 13th 2012 @ 9:37am
TomC said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:37am | Report comment
Absolutely.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:59am
CrossIT said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:59am | Report comment
Teaches Children to respect officials? Please explain because I don’t know how many times I saw players screaming at officials, jumping up & down and throwing tantrums. It’s a farce, you walk along a stupid congo line and hi five the other guy, “respect brother”.
I personally believe it would be more worthwhile for players to shake hands after a match, it would force the player to show respect by making the effort to walk over have a chat and actually shake hands & build somewhat of a relationship, rather then the silly congo line where most players don’t even look the other in the eye. (This is going a bit Dr Phil so I’ll stop here)
Last night had nothing to do with respecting officials & players, it was two blokes who didn’t like each other and didn’t want to shake each others hand, “Mountain out of a molehill” stuff. I mean he didn’t punch his lights out, which I would of done to John Terry.
February 13th 2012 @ 10:31am
Roarchild said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Sometimes the hand shakes are a bit of a farce but at least that is a small bastige of decency.
Without the hand shake then Evra would never have got the opportunity to extend his hand/ All the focus has been on Suarez rejecting it but that Evra offered it is a good story.
February 13th 2012 @ 10:57am
CrossIT said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:57am | Report comment
Yeah I agree at least he went the 50% – haha wow we are really spliting hairs here.
February 13th 2012 @ 8:15am
Kasey said | February 13th 2012 @ 8:15am | Report comment
Have to agree with you Fuss..heck of an over reaction here. I was at my local comp on the weekend..SA Federation Cup: Para Hills Knights vs White City Woodville(formerly Beograd) and I noticed that it is now a requirement that the players 3 tiers below the HAL line up and then shake hands with each other and the officials prior to the commencement of hostilities. Bravo I say. Long may it continue. Anything that promotes erspect to the oft maligned officials and of course to your opponent should be encouraged I say.
February 13th 2012 @ 8:23am
Kasey said | February 13th 2012 @ 8:23am | Report comment
That said, it is another disgraceful episode in the life of one of my most disliked footballers. From his antics at the World Cup in South Africa(especially that handball on the line URU v Ghana) to his behaviour in England wrt Evra, I’m glad I’m not a scouser and thus obligted by loyalty to my team to try to like the bloke.
February 13th 2012 @ 1:39pm
King Of Swing said | February 13th 2012 @ 1:39pm | Report comment
Dont forget the time he tried to bite an opposition player while playing for Ajax.
February 13th 2012 @ 1:41pm
Kasey said | February 13th 2012 @ 1:41pm | Report comment
KoS: That’s the first time I’ve heard that one. Was the bitee black? Even if not, if your allegation is true, then its yet another reason to dislike this ‘orrible human being.
February 13th 2012 @ 8:23am
Brendan said | February 13th 2012 @ 8:23am | Report comment
Way off the mark here Luke. The handshake is a important gesture and teaches all kids an important lesson.
What about instead we hand Suarez another couple of weeks for unsportsmans like conduct. Have lost all respect for this tosser
February 13th 2012 @ 8:27am
The Cattery said | February 13th 2012 @ 8:27am | Report comment
The pre-game handshake is a nice gesture – but it’s sort of a little bit too nice.
February 13th 2012 @ 8:30am
Kasey said | February 13th 2012 @ 8:30am | Report comment
Too nice?? I’m not sure I follow you Cat. In a sport that regularly brings together players, officials and fans from such diverse back grounds from around the globe, how can a gesture like this be undervalued?
February 13th 2012 @ 10:09am
The Cattery said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:09am | Report comment
As someone said elsewhere, an even better gesture is to show a bit more respect to refs on the field – the pre-game gesture is nice, that’s it, don’t read too much more into it – when the whistle blows – the competing players will try to do each other over at every opportunity – being ultra-competitive doesn’t always translate to being nice while the game is on – but if winners and losers can show good sportsmanship at the end of the game – that strikes me as a more meaningful gesture.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:30am
Luke Doherty said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:30am | Report comment
I agree that it does play an important part in educating kids about respect for an opponent and the game etc, but the handshake snub (that was always likely to happen) was the cause of more scenes that were far worse for the game. Not good for kids to see that and then repeat on the weekend – so the simple solution yesterday would’ve been to bin the handshake.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:39am
TomC said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:39am | Report comment
We should be able to trust highly paid professional athletes to be able to shake hands with their opponents.
The fact that Suarez could not is a reflection on him, not on the tradition.
The simple solution is to come down hard on Suarez. This is no one’s fault but his.
February 13th 2012 @ 10:13am
Axelv said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:13am | Report comment
Don’t forget Evra’s reaction, not as much would be made of it if he didn’t grab Suarez’s arm.
February 13th 2012 @ 11:47am
TomC said | February 13th 2012 @ 11:47am | Report comment
I think he was entitled to react the way he did to the handshake, personally.
Rubbing it in at the end was definitely not a good look though. Just reinforced the image that this was two spoilt children fighting over nothing.
The real shame is that this might have a serious impact on how people perceive on-field racism. Players who are genuinely the victim of racist taunts will surely be less likely to come forward for fear that they’ll find themselves in a similar fiasco, or that they’ll be associated with Evra’s less than dignified display.
February 13th 2012 @ 10:27am
Axelv said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:27am | Report comment
Or rub it in later on…
February 13th 2012 @ 11:37pm
apaway said | February 13th 2012 @ 11:37pm | Report comment
Perhaps, Luke, but the better solution would have been for Suarez to shake Evra’s hand, not apologise for not doing so after the fact. Or perhaps for both players to have been stood down by their respective managers for the game.
I notice that UFC fighters and boxers generally shake hands or touch gloves before a contest, spend the next x number of rounds beating the tripe out of each other, then shake and hug it out afterwards.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:34am
UK Steve said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:34am | Report comment
Brings fans together? Separated by a couple of hundred crowd controllers! This particular match we are talking about is always a lunchtime kick-off, just to make sure that the fans don’t get too lagered up beforehand. So much for living in a civilised society.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:43am
Kasey said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:43am | Report comment
You tool. This is a particularly volatile encounter between close geographic rivals. What about the experiences of many but obviously not you at a World Cup when football fans from all over the world mingle in street parties or outside various stadia drinking in the atmosphere? For a bloke who purports to be from a football background and from the UK, you are sadly and obviously naive in your comments regarding the world game.
February 13th 2012 @ 7:21pm
UK Steve said | February 13th 2012 @ 7:21pm | Report comment
Kasey – I’m going to a match this weekend. I’ll go for a mingle in an opposition pub before the game and I’ll let you know how I got on. If you don’t hear from me, then it probably didn’t go well.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:36am
futbanous said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:36am | Report comment
Regardless of any individuals opinion on the handshake it is part of the game’s pre match rituals.
Would I miss it as a fan though?.
To be honest no. All I want to see at a football match is one my team win & two preferably in an entertaining manner.
Meeting dignitaries,shaking hands ,playing anthems ,move along please theres a game on.
But in this particular instance & because it is known that shaking the hand is a traditional part of the game & because at times professional sportspeople are little more than petulant children ,older wiser men(supposedly) should have had a word in their ear pre shake.
Older wiser men are not really older wiser men,if they have to comment after the match.
Then again maybe just maybe their wiser than we think. By not commenting a controversial football talking point has been created & here we are thousands of kilometres away talking about it.
February 13th 2012 @ 9:51am
pete4 said | February 13th 2012 @ 9:51am | Report comment
I think both players are to blame to for this and UEFA should look at sanctioning both of them. Just look at the World Cup in South Africa how these players acted for their respective National teams. Evra had a leading role in imploding France and Suarez last minute hand ball in the quarter final against Ghana and we are making a big deal out of them not shaking hands. Anyone remember John Terry and Wayne Bridge not shaking hands??
February 13th 2012 @ 10:24am
Axelv said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:24am | Report comment
This is what happens when people don’t forgive and don’t turn the other cheek
It’s his fault, no it’s his fault! He started! No, he started it! He deserved it etc etc
Suarez could have forgiven Evra despite feeling victimized, Evra could have accepted and respected Suarez for choosing not to shake his hand, Evra didn’t have to rub it in Suarez’s face. But they all chose to as some sort of act of revenge.
Anyway getting rid of handshakes because of an incident is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard! To some people it is meaningless, to others it is meaningful, why take away sportsmanship of the game away from everyone when only a minority take advantage to use it for the opposite effect?
February 13th 2012 @ 10:34am
Roarchild said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:34am | Report comment
Can’t help we are just being set up for a tea commercial starring both Suarez and Evra, similar to the Cathy Freeman vs Crazy old codger one.
February 13th 2012 @ 10:36am
Axelv said | February 13th 2012 @ 10:36am | Report comment
Haha, that would be brilliant