The outcry and sense of victimisation that has permeated the Liverpool Football Club in the wake of Luis Suarez’s racism conviction is disgraceful, and all associated with Wednesday’s T-shirt fiasco should be ashamed.
On Tuesday the Uruguayan striker was banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra after the two clubs met on October 15.
The judgement handed down by the commission has not been made public, but the case has largely centred around Suarez calling Evra ‘negrito’ at various stages throughout the match.
Liverpool’s response was one of outrage, and the team responded by sporting T-shirts bearing Suarez’s name, number, and image during the warmup to their match at Wigan 24 hours after the decision.
Debate has exploded in the days following, and it has been difficult to separate objective discussion from emotionally-charged tribalism between fans of various Premier League clubs.
The defence of Suarez has centred around the term ‘negrito’ being an affectionate rather than offensive term in Suarez’s native South America, and Liverpool have repeatedly pointed to Suarez’s own ethnic origin as evidence that the striker could not possibly be racist.
They’re completely missing the point.
The question isn’t whether Suarez himself is racist, but whether or not ‘negrito’ constitutes a racist term.
In England, and certainly on a broader level in Europe, it unquestionably does, and it makes the ‘Free Luis’ T-shirt stunt Liverpool pulled on Wednesday night absolutely abhorrent.
By playing the victim, Liverpool are thumbing their nose at the considerable anti-discrimination work that has made the English Premier League the benchmark when it comes to stamping out racism.
It seems implausible, but Suarez may very well have not understood his remarks to be racist.
Liverpool could have come out in the aftermath of the judgement and admitted as much and said that Suarez now understood that these comments had absolutely no place on a football field, reaffirming their own anti-racist stance in the process.
They’ve missed that opportunity now and, short of Patrice Evra admitting the comments were a fabrication, Liverpool will be forever tainted as the club who put a few insignificant points ahead of the greater cause of anti-discrimination.
SteveEFC
Guest
Roger, I regard you as a true football supporter. I am an Everton supporter and if Suarez or any EFC player committed an act of racism I would not be able to condone it. Liverpool FC are one of the greatest clubs in history, and that is coming from an Evertonian. The club should have remained quiet and moved on. As I said, you are a proper footbal supporter. Thank you Steve
Colin N
Guest
"Especially as Evra instigated the incident by commenting on Suarez` South American heritage." If that was the case and was irate because of it, why would Suarez use the term in an affectionate manner?
UK Steve
Guest
Punter, things have definitely moved on, but fans don't need much of a reason to boo opposition players. If Suarez was transferred to Wigan, those boos would become cheers overnight.
Roger
Guest
Why doesn't racist fit exactly? You know him personally, and can vouch for his character?
Bondy
That was always going to happen Suarez vs Evra their both dirty grubs . The South American angle is very interesting i remember when the Argentine Olympic team were in China there were some allegations made against the Argentine's it had something to do with eye configuration with the locals .
Pecs McGee
Guest
Who`s deluded? It is used as an affectionate term in Latin America. Fact. Suarez can be accused of being condescending or insensitive but racist just doesn´t fit. Especially as Evra instigated the incident by commenting on Suarez` South American heritage.
Roger
Guest
Let me start by saying I am a Liverpool fan. But for those arguing that "negrito" can be used affectionately/nicely/whatever, I think you are deluding yourself. We don't know what happened, as we weren't there, but safe to say that if Suarez had of used the word affectionately (with a smile on his face and a pat on the back or whatever), he would not have offended the player. Now it will be a blow for Liverpool that Suarez can't play for 8 games, but please don't try and defend racism.
Roger
Guest
Thanks for sharing Punter, I thing it says a lot about where we were, and where we are.
Roger
Guest
Correct - Liverpool should not support their player in their racism.
Roger
Guest
I'm a Liverpool supporter, but I agree Stevo. What a horrible display at the WC. It almost makes me sick to think about what he did there. And there no excuses, none, whatsoever, for racism. I get they want to support their player, but sometimes the best support is to cop it on the chin, admit they made a mistake, and move on.
Punter
Guest
Thanks BigAl, Merry Christmas & may 2012 bring out the best of sport & good health.
BigAl
Guest
your most profoundl post yet Punter - really captures the changing social mood..
Stevo
Guest
If Evra thought the comment directed towards him was racist or had a racial edge to it then end of story. Racism is not judged from the position of the person making the comment but from the person to whom the comment was directed. If Evra was offended then Suarez and Liverpool need to deal with that and learn from it.
Punter
Guest
In 1985, I took my sister to a English Division 1 (top league) football game, there was a great atmosphere & my sister was enjoying it, but she queried why every time a black player touch the ball the crowd booed. I told her because they were Black, for no other reason. Watching the Chelsea & also the Liverpool games last week I noticed the crowd booed the players accused of racism every time they touched the ball. When I saw this it reminded me of that game all those years ago.
anopinion
Guest
Just because you are not offended does not mean it is not a racist remark. A racist remark is an act of racism, however slight, all racism should be stamped out. I have drawn a line in the sand in my life. I will not tolerate any racist act in my presence. I make a stand on every racist act. I say something every time.
UK Steve
Guest
I don't know anyone that doesn't think that Suarez has been harshly dealt with. The FA and English media are trying to brainwash everyone to believe that the Suarez and Terry incidents are a massive deal. I believe that the general consensus is that exactly how hurt were either Evra or Ferdinand, by the alleged comments, and especially in the case of Evra, what provoked the comments. Be a man and shrug off a spur of the moment comment. The fact that the police are now involved in the Terry incident is mind boggling. If you live in London, forget about ringing the cops if your house gets broken into, they're too busy interviewing lip reading QPR supporters.
mark
Guest
unbelievable do people not realise that liverpool are not defending suarez because he used a racist term , they are defending him because he didnt. the term negrito was said in spanish not english and it was said by suarez a guy from uruguay , there is no equivalent word for negrito in the english language, but people and the f.a assume because it can also describe certain ethnic people it must be what he meant, there are many similar words in english that mean different things, and us english are so arrogant to believe that every word around the world that is spoken will have a meaning based in english.where suarez comes from its an affectionate term to people of any origin, he has heard the word spoken in europe too without any issue including man utd players, and nobody including liverpool f.c could not have told him its unacceptable word to say as hardly anyone in good old little naive england would have heard of this word before except when said maybe assuming it had a similar meaning to a certain well known word which i will not repeat. Im a very angry football fan and an ashamed englishmen(charlton fc)
rohit
Guest
stevo if you were in suarez's position playing in the world cup and had to sacrifice yourself for your country you would do it. Suarez got the red card gyan missed his penalty end of. You lot slating for handballing are morons i understand for the bite in which he made a mistake but he is a superb player with supreme technical abilities
Pecs McGee
Guest
In Castellano `negro' simply means black. It has no negative connotations. `ito' is added onto the end of many words including `gringo` (mi gringito amigo). In fact when I was travelling in Colombia I heard the term negrito many times. In castellano what Suarez said can be translated as "my black friend" or something similar.
Ramirez
Guest
The problem is that negrito is everyday slang and not a word that is exclusively racially-motivated i.e used in specific circumstances. It can be used in the same way an Australian uses the word "mate".