No Handshake Is Bigger Than The Club
I grew up in the punk rock scene; not shaking the hand of someone you don’t like or you feel has wronged you in one way or another doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. The rigidity of antiquated traditions or the pomp and circumstance of ceremony, especially ones such as a pre-match handshake, doesn’t mean much when a governing body is forcing 22 men to pretend they like and/or respect each other mere minutes before they’re kicking each other and trying their damnedest to have each other sent off.
This redundant practice does nothing to bring the kind of honesty into the game that the media has been clamouring for since the first Englishman claimed “their team doesn’t dive”. The stark refusal of the FA to do away with an obvious flash point, much like they did when QPR recently hosted Chelsea, was a mistake of, or at least close to, the same magnitude as Suarez refusing the hand of the man who he believes to have destroyed his future in England. Would you have shaken his hand? I feel a bit strange saying this, but even Gary Neville agrees with me.
Even as I write this, I question if I believe the words appearing before me. To be honest with you, it’s hard to form a concrete opinion. A blogger without an opinion? I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s the truth. In a multifaceted situation such as this, it’s next to impossible not to play a constant game of devil’s advocate while employing some serious Owellian-esque double think. You think you have a handle on the situation before everything goes terribly wrong.
Earlier in the week, it was confirmed by the club that Suarez would accept Evra’s hand if the FA insisted on a pre-match handshake. If he told Kenny he would do it and he went out his way not to when he knew the whole world would be fixated on this one event, then he’s a liar. While it may be simplistic to put it all down to that, when you’re caught in a lie, you begin to consider the possibilities. What else he could have misled us, and the club, about? While I maintain my belief in his innocence and decry the dubious manner in which he was found guilty, the advocate of the devil rears it’s pointed head.
Would it not have been easier to put it all behind us? Shake his hand and get on with the football? If Luis can’t make the decision to put the club and it’s fans ahead of his own personal feelings, is keeping him around truly worth it? If you forget for a moment the benefit the Uruguayan brings us on the pitch, this poisoned relationship could be doing us more damage than anything else. With our precarious league position making it difficult to attract top class talent, his presence could be detrimental to the recruitment process. Never mind worrying about players who aren’t even here, no one wants to be around someone they can’t trust.
The media painting us in a negative light is nothing new, but the damage the racism row and the subsequent fall out from something as trivial as a handshake leaves us in a horrible position with those who would rather have someone else make up their mind for them. Those that believe in sensationalism over reason and that Suarez’s actions mean he should never play for Liverpool again.
Red Devil’s legend Peter Schmeichel was accused of racially abusing Ian Wright under almost the same circumstances as Suarez. Who did Ferguson throw his support behind? He made life long criminal Roy Keane his Captain, then drug cheat Rio Ferdinand. Was Sir Alex calling for Cantona to be sold after he attacked an opposition fan in the middle of a game? You know the answer, but this isn’t about what Fergie would or wouldn’t do. His influence in the media is well documented and needs no further column inches, but would the reaction of those furiously typing away had been the same if Evra refused the hand of Suarez?
Had the tables been turned, Evra would have been lauded as a hero, standing up for the cause and showing that racism will not be tolerated. If Suarez did, in fact, racially abuse him, then I give the Frenchman credit for being the bigger man to extend his hand in the first place. It takes a lot to look your abuser in the eye while offering the other cheek; still the only people who will know what went on that day is the two of them and the actions of Suarez were those of a man who believed he had been wronged.
Fed up with all the negative press, the club has formally apologized for the actions of it’s player and manager after Dalglish was on the receiving end of some heavy criticism for defending the actions of Suarez during his post-match press conference. The striker and the Manager have also issued apologies which have been subsequently accepted by the United hierarchy who hope this whole sordid affair can be put behind us. No apology for the excessive celebrations of Evra after the final whistle or the fanzines confiscated before the match are expected to be forthcoming.
The irony, and futility, of this isn’t lost on me. Ranting about media bias and their obsession with discussing off-field matters rather than the game itself while I do the same proves my own hypocrisy. I should be writing a match review, shouldn’t I?
–steven.
It goes without saying that my views don’t necessarily reflect those of the other bloggers here.
GREAT ARTICLE THANKS FOR BEING FAIR.
The facts are pretty simple for me. Evra accused Suarez of making racist comments to him. An FA “independent” body then found Suarez guilty although no evidence seems to have been forthcoming apart from the testimonies of the two players involved. Suarez’s reputation is tarnished for life. He is branded a racist until the day he dies. He has always maintained his innocence and continues to do so. Why should he, therefore, shake the hand of the man who has questioned his integrity? I sure as hell would not want to shake the hand of a man who had accused me of being a racist.
At last the most common sense angle of this affair that I’ve read. I’ve been saying most people condemning Suarez have claimed the moral high ground . It’s not as dimple as that. What if ? Suarez is actually wronged in all of this. Why did evra lower his hand after offering Henderson his hand higher. Is it me splitting hairs again. They needed to hug and shake on it . It would have sent a powerful message . I feel evras behaviour can also be questioned throughout. I feel Suarez has been hung out to dry. Scrap the handshakes as this won’t be the last . Players reserve the right to not shake the hand of an opponent. Why fake it . The world is plastic enough. After the match you can shake a hand of anyone you like. Hay you can even have a shirt . Ynwa
well, we’ve kind of reached rock bottom on this issue finally.
think the only way is up right now? walk on..walk on.. *crosses fingers*
Not sure I subscribe to the liar thing. It seems more likely to me that he just made a bad call in a pressure situation, like the occasion got to him. He does get fairly amped for big games, and I think with his dander all the way up, perceiving himself as the victim in the whole saga, he acted emotionally rather than maturely.
At this point there’s no reason to believe it was anything more than a mistake, however we should all just make a mental note – once is him making a mistake, twice is him having an issue with the truth.
Either way, we need a couple of glorious cup fixture wins and a shiny new trophy in the cabinet to get Liverpool back in the news for the right reasons.
The stage is also set for Carroll and Suarez to make heroes of themselves, and I hope either or both score a cup final goal. They could both do with some positive press.
Your missing the point .. Because he said he would !!! If he had a problem with the whole handshake thing, then he should have made it clear when it was discussed with club officals earlier in the week.
As it transpired he lied to the club, the club in turn ,unknowingly it must be said, lied and know everyone at the club has had to make a grovelling apology, Suarez included.. If he didn’t want to shake hands , fine , say it !!! Don’t make LIARS out of EVERYONE at the club.
What a load of rubbish. Can’t you all see that Luis Suarez is innocent ? I don’t blame him for not shaking Evars hand. I’m not going to say much except to read for yourselves. Here are the links.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro and
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/spanish-slang-may-get-suarez-off-the-hook-6261881.html and for those who can’t b bothered clicking on the link, here is the text from Wikipedia.
“However, in Spanish-speaking countries such as Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay where there are few people of African origin and appearance, negro (negra for females) is commonly used to refer to partners, close friends[13] or people in general independent of skin color. In Venezuela the word negro is similarly used, despite its large African descent population.”
Enjoy.
The issue was never his innocence, it was the inability of the FA to give him a fair hearing.
How many of these mistakes are we going to have to keep putting up with? Giving the finger to Fulham fans, blasting a water bottle when substituted. He keeps doing childish shit. Suarez is good, but the team has proven they can work without him and actually do well.
Starting now, he needs to earn back the respect of the fans and club. I’m not saying, “sell him in the summer,” but he needs to get his act together sooner rather than later.
You’ve kept a better list than I have lol.
Agree there are some childish behaviours on display – but there is a distance between them and him being a liar. Lia-bility maybe (see what I did there?)
Suarez blew the chance to turn it on Evra when Evra lowered his hand as Luis approached him. He should have raised his hands in disbelief and immediately turned to the Ref therefor leaving Evra in no mans land leaving the cameras to expose him as the $@#&! he is.
Do we know that he didn’t intend to and then panicked if Evra truly did not appear to be ofering his hand? Why was LFC the team to come across to the Mancs?