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| From www.footballfigures.com |
Frankly Luis Suarez’s 8 match ban and a few coins
for his alleged racial utterances has been a hot topic. The guilty verdict has not been taken
lightly by the club and its fans. It could be that his bosses believe he is
innocent, or they think there is a conspiracy to do their resurgent game down.
I actually think no matter how guilty Suarez was,
they would hurt because the Uruguayan is the best thing that has ever happened
to them since Steven G. Liverpool and their fans would make the same noise had
it been their player who suffered the crippling damage from another player,
assuming it was a leg breaking tackle from Patrice Evra.
The debate of whether this or that was said by
Suarez to Evra has been bringing insinuations of the credibility of the
offended, which is racist in itself. Let’s accept the verdict is out and Suarez
is guilty. The question of being racist and saying something racist is being
thrown into the fray by commenting fans and pundits alike.
This depends on the level of interaction on the
involved parties but nobody reports a case unless they feel aggrieved and this occurs
in tense and serious situations.
I do not intend to get into the merits and demerits
of racism, but on the actual case and verdict. The Reds are cry-babies. They
may be covering for the FA, who I feel are a let down. Suarez deserved a harsh
sentence for his acts. Liverpool are concerned about his irreplaceability in
their line up than having a case as a barometer for future references.
Suarez should have been banned for the rest of the
season mainly to set precedence. I am not writing FA laws or advising the FA
board on their affairs. Maybe it is the ceiling for their system. At this
point, I am left with no option but advise Evra.
The French defender should press criminal charges
and have Suarez locked up. It could be that the territorial laws are also
generous to drive the point home.
Given the fact that these are high profile players
in the world’s most popular sport, this case needed high profile attention to
deter those with a tendency, that racial tendency to undermine Africans. In
that case, hauling Suarez to the Hague would get everyone talking.
I am not saying Evra will not do this. There is
time for Suarez to appeal and Evra has not said he is ok with it, if it is
within his right to accept the verdict as fair or pardon the offender.
John Terry’s case is also being looked at, hence
there is a tense atmosphere and for now, all we can do is hope for his innocence.
We would not love to see two players mingling with politicians at the Hague,
but racism, is a political crime for me. This will be the only language the
perpetrators will hear.
In all this, I should have been stressing that
Suarez’s appeal is pending, meaning he deserved less crucifying than I am doing
now and I apologise. All this is meant to be, is to highlight the criminology of
the case, if the judgement is upheld.
Judging from the child-like behaviour and reaction
of Liverpool, Suarez will not even lose his dues from the team and they will
pay his fine. This makes Suarez feel nothing for the crime committed, again, if
the judgement is upheld after appeal.
It sounds like the team will take the punch for the
player and that sends a message about the team’s view of racism in general. Shouldn’t
they view this as injustice and discrimination committed by their player
against another, than a give an impression that this a farce?
I put it this way, given
their opinion that the accusation by Evra was not credible while citing other previous
racial cases they claim unfounded. This reference is flawed because Evra never
lodged complaints himself.
Three or four seasons ago, a lip reader said a
certain Steve Finnan racially abused Evra while Sir Alex Ferguson’s staff of Mike
Phelan and Richard Hartis at Stanford Bridge also said they heard a Chelsea
groundsman insult Patrice Evra.
The problem for me is how suddenly Suarez is
turning from ‘accused-found-guilty’ to a victim by both the club and fans. Evra
is and must always remain a victim regardless of opinion and verdict. This is
not to say whatever he says goes. According to the merits of the report, Suarez
should have lodged a complaint before Evra did, to say that he reports a case
of being a victim of Evra’s complaint.
At a closer look, this saga has shown a desensitised
take on the racial attitudes in the game. I think there will be more to say
after the John Terry verdict, though we
must note and acknowledge the difference between the two cases, but the FA,
having called for the resignation of Sepp Blatter after the FIFA boss is alleged
to have said there is no racism in football, will want to be seen as taking a
tougher stand.
As said earlier on, a tougher stand is never just 8
games for a serious and criminal case of racism in football.
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