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.
apaway
Guest
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.
UK Steve
Guest
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.
dasilva
Roar Guru
I guess this controversy shows that Sepp Blatter is right. Racism controversy should be resolve by a handshake. Look what happens when players refuse to shake?
Kasey
Guest
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.
King Of Swing
Guest
Dont forget the time he tried to bite an opposition player while playing for Ajax.
TomC
Guest
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.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
if it doesn't matter, then why are people upset?
Dinoweb
Guest
Does shaking hands before a match really teach or accomplish anything? In the amature league I played in for over 20 years, we never shook hands before a match, though as capatin many times I would shake hands with the opposing captain at the coin toss and wish him luck. I reflected on this quite often over the years, because sure as hell I would have much prefered to see him and his entire team play the worst game of their lives and have absolutely no luck at all. After the match, regardless of the result, if I thought opposing players had played a decent game, or the officials had done a reasonable job, I would shake their hand and congrtualte them. To me this was far more sincere and shows more respect than some rediculously contrived pre-game ritual. Ditch the pre-game handshake. It's a joke and achieves absolutely nothing.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
And, in breaking news ... another "handshake snub" has hit the EPL prior to Villa v Man City clash this morning and may take the Suarez snub off the front pages? The Villa mascot snubbed the Man City mascot ... :-) Interesting to note that the snubbers in both occasions ended up on the losing team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-8wRRnqDPM
CrossIT
Guest
Yeah I agree at least he went the 50% - haha wow we are really spliting hairs here.
Axelv
Guest
Haha, that would be brilliant :lol:
Ben of Phnom Penh
Guest
Rituals are important as they send social signals as to expected behaviour. It doesn't matter whether the players feel they want to shake hands or not, the fact is that rituals such as these act as reminders as to how they are expected to conduct themselves. There are many such rituals in sport and they do matter to us as social animals. Much of the outcry was because the vast majority of people saw the missing handshake and the signal sent by Suarez was that social rules and expected behaviour do not apply to him. If the handshake means nothing, no-one would have cared.
Roarchild
Roar Guru
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.
Roarchild
Roar Guru
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.
Axelv
Guest
Or rub it in later on...
Axelv
Guest
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?
Axelv
Guest
Don't forget Evra's reaction, not as much would be made of it if he didn't grab Suarez's arm.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
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.
CrossIT
Guest
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.
pete4
Guest
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??