22 Dec 2011

Debunking LFC myths: No 11 – Patrice Evra has a history of race complaints

Myths, lies and false assumptions are an inescapable reality of modern football. The more emotive the incident, the less objective people become, which leads inexorably to the endless (and sometimes deliberate) perpetuation of misinformation. This has undoubtedly been the case during the Suarez-Evra race row, which is why I feel compelled to highlight several glaring (and embarrassing) inaccuracies related to the situation.

Objectivity is the name of the game here, and if fans are going to assess the Suarez-Evra issue in a fair manner, then false information needs to be exposed, and removed from the equation.

I'll be looking at several myths related to the Suarez-Evra situation (across several articles), but the first piece of misinformation that needs to be addressed is the persistent allegation that Patrice Evra has a history of 'playing the race card'.

This is categorically UNTRUE, and it does Liverpool fans no credit at all to continually perpetuate this lie.

KEY FACTS

1. Prior to the Suarez incident, Evra had been involved in two race-related incidents, the details of which are outlined below:

STEVE FINNAN INCIDENT (2006)

On March 1, the Police launched an investigation after a deaf football fan claimed to have lip-read Finnan making a racist remark towards Evra. Six days later, Finnan was cleared of all wrongdoing by Greater Manchester Police. They key point here is that Evra did not file the complaint.

MIKE BETHELL INCIDENT (2008)

The lie perpetuated here was that Evra filed a a race complaint against Chelsea groundsman Mike Bethel. The Official FA report into the incident states:

"The two witnesses who say they heard those words directed by Mr Bethell at Mr Evra are the Manchester United first team coach Mr Mike Phelan and the goalkeeping coach Mr Richard Hartis. Mr Evra has never claimed to have heard such a remark on that day".

2. Evra did not raise a race complaint in either of the incidents outlined above.

3. Evra has only ever filed ONE race complaint, and that was against Luis Suarez.

4. Liverpool FC itself is also guilty of perpetuating false information about Evra, as evidenced by this line from the club's official statement on Suarez's 8-match ban:

"It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible - certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations".

As the facts show, there are no 'prior unfounded accusations' attributable to Evra, and it is embarrassing to see this kind of gross inaccuracy coming from the club.

I am no fan of Evra (!), but it's totally wrong for Liverpool fans to keep perpetuating lies about him; the facts are CLEAR and VERIFIABLE, and it's only fair to acknowledge the truth: Evra does NOT have a history of making race accusations, and all fair-minded Liverpool fans should accept that.

Jaimie Kanwar


101 comments:

  1. Respect,
    I'm pleasantly stunned to see this on your site.
    As a United fan i want to thank you for clarifying this.
    This issue is bigger than both of our respective clubs and your honesty has been noted.

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  2. I totally agree - the issue is bigger than either LFC or MU.  It's not about personal allegiances, it's about truth, and it bugs me beyond belief to see people lying about stuff like this.

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  3. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/793670/ce/uk/&cc=5739?ver=global

    So he's never played the race card? No sir, not Mister Evra, sir.

    You really are an idiot Kunwar.

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  4. DID EVRA NOT CLAIM THE REFEREE  BOOK HIM BECAUSE HE WAS BLACK

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  5. That is merely alleged at this stage; there is no factual proof. And even if it's true, what does that have to do with the issue at hand?

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  6. Will you be so generous if facts about this case expose evra as the racist he is

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  7. I'm white u are black, i'm short u are tall. my willies bigger than your willy.. who gives a damn, why are these multi millionaires worried about what another multi millionaire says to him, whether the comment was racist or not why give a s**t.. grow a pair of balls and get over yourself and get on with it,, evra should be banned for being a whinging cry baby, unless he's embarrassed by the colour of his skin he shud shut it..

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  8. Of course. Why would I not be? I think I've proven over the years that I am always honest, even if it means criticising LFC players/managers.

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  9. Nice article. Mostly stupid comments down here, simple minded people.

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  10. does the term negrito exist in english

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  11. it does now

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  12. Excellent article. Though I´m a Liverpool fan and despise Evra, and everything concerning United, the Truth is the Truth. Should always be.

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  13. It's interesting that you suggest the FA potentially 'influenced' a member of the public to make a complaint against John Terry so they could offload the problem onto the police.But there is zero discussion about why Mike Phelan and Richard Hartis might have claimed to have heard a racist comment from the Chelsea groundsman - which if the FA had decided was true would have given Evra a very solid defence of 'provocation'.Is it totally beyond the realms of possibility that Evra and/or Man United 'encouraged' Phelan and Hartis to make those claims on his behalf, knowing full well that if the player himself the allegations then he would be opening himself up to a much larger potential ban.

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  14. If it is true, then it is an accusation of racism made by Evra against the referee.

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  15. Jamie, you are wrong. Evra accused his own Senegalese countrymen of being RACISTS because they were upset that Evra chose to play for France instead of Senegal.

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  16. And it is racist. Apparently.

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  17.  Ah, so money makes people immune to emotions, does it?

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  18. I doubt it's true. At this stage, it's just rumour.

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  19. I agree with the thrust of you article, and find Liverpool's approach a little unsettling

    Why not just present Suarez in a press conference, stress that he is not racist, accept that Suarez now understands the cultural differences, apologise for any offence caused and vow to never use such language in England again

    If Evra did say that to the ref then he is accusing the referee of bias based on colour of his skin, he is labelling the referee as a racist. In that case he had better get some punishment, also if Evra used a derogatory phrase about Suarez's ethnicity then he should also be punished

    We'll see on Monday or whenever the report comes out

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  20. apparently ??? ... why don't you try it your workplace tomorrow. Trust all you have to do is tell them you just landed from Uruguay and name Gus Poyet as your referee when you apply for your next job.  

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  21. Fair play Jaimie, nice to see objectivity still exists

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  22. prove it .. quotes from credible sources please ...

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  23. United fan here. Very well thought out argument. I have considered the same. It could very well be that Phelan and Hartis acted on instructions. 
    What we need to reach a decision in such cases are cold, hard facts though. Unless either of them come out and say they were influenced by someone, we'll never know.

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  24. Oh come on, JJ! You're seriously clutching at straws here. Evra's comments on the Senegal issue:

    "I grew up amid a Senegalese culture at home, but we became westernised very quickly and when I had to choose between playing for Senegal or France my father told me to follow my heart.

    "I opted for France, as that was where I had grown up, but I then came in for lots of abuse in Senegal.

    "I was called a monkey who grovels before the white man and labelled a money-obsessed traitor to the nation. But my parents helped me get through it".

    Please highlight where in the above comments Evra makes an official complaint to a football governing body about his 'countrymen' being racist.

    That's the issue here - does Evra have a history of making race complaints about other footballers. The answer is no. The above comments represent personal history, and have nothing to do with what we're discussing here.

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  25. Its a valid point but if you take the time to read this article:

    http://soccerlens.com/the-fas-evra-report-the-united-perspective/19035/

    then it may change your view (i accept though that the article is from a united fan but it does raise some interesting points)

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  26. Totally agree with all of that. If its proven that Evra used a derogatory phrase against Suarez then it should be investigated.

    Liverpool's response has been amateurish and embarrassing in my view.

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  27. Good job you all learned before you started calling people it then. /Ignorance is no excuse/

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  28. Oh come on, you are really stretching the limit here.

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  29. This is an extract from a blog on the fa report about the chelsea groundsman incident:

     "Mike Phelan has been the main focus of the newspaper reports, with him receiving a lot of stick and essentially being called a liar. I imagined there had to be pretty compelling evidence for the FA to write this in their report. It appears as though I was wrong.
    Phelan’s first statement was written three weeks after the incident. He claimed that Bethell called Evra a “f*****g immigrant” during the first coming together between the two men. Five months later he was asked to write another statement, in which he claimed the comments were made during the second coming together of the two men. It is the mistiming of when the racist comment was made that has lead the FA to damn Phelan as ‘unimpressive’ and the press label him a liar.
    I imagine if I saw two men swinging for each other, being pulled apart by scores of people, before they clashed again, and amongst this mass brawl I heard the words “fucking immigrant” being shouted, five months later I would remember the words said, not the precise moment they were said.
    The FA report agrees. “We should not have expected complete detailed accuracy and consistency in witnesses’ recollections of a fast-moving disorderly series of events.”
    Richard Hartis, United’s goalkeeping coach, didn’t agree with Phelan on the timing, as stated by the report. “There is some confusion and inconsistency in their placing of the alleged racist insult.”
    It is because of that United’s testimonies are regarded ‘unreliable’ and ‘unimpressive’.
    However, when there are conflicts between the accounts of Bethell and Martin (another member of Chelsea’s groundstaff), no such judgments are made.
    “There was a discrepancy between his [Bethell] evidence and Martin’s evidence about when Bethell first knew that who Evra was by name, but that does not lead us to doubt that Bethell was telling us the truth.”

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  30. Jaimie,

    The official Liverpool statement does not suggest that Evra has a history of making race complaints, but that he has previously made "prior unfounded accusations". 

    The full report of the 'battle of the bridge' backs this position. In it, the FA concluded of Evra that his "account [was] exaggerated and unreliable. It is an attempt to justify a physical intervention by him which cannot reasonably be justified."

    He therefore HAS made previously unfounded accusations (that he felt obliged to physically intervene in the Chelsea altercation, as one of the groundstaff was 'brandishing' a pitchfork), which were debunked by the FA.

    Read it for yourself:


    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/3814849/FA-Battle-of-the-Bridge-report-in-full.html


    Kraken

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  31. -plays the xfiles tune-

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  32. i have tried to post and link that would help clear your point up but it wont seem to pass the mods, il try to summarise:

    Mike Phelan made a written statement three weeks after the incident that the chelsea groundsman called Evra a "fxxxxxg immigrant" during the 1st clash between Evra and Bethell (the groundsman)

    Phelen then had to make another written statement 5 months later in which he said that the alleged abuse occured during the 2nd clash between the two.

    (please note the the two clashes were only interrupted briefly by people trying to break the two apart....you can picture the scene im sure)

    On the basis of this, and that Richard Hartis the other United coach who was a witness who said the abuse occured during the 1st clash the fa said that:

    “There is some confusion and inconsistency in their placing of the alleged racist insult.”

    And led them to label Phelan as "unimpressive" and "unreliable".

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  33. Given the context of the statement, I think it's obvious that LFC was referring to previous race accusations (that don't exist).

    There is further persuasive evidence to back up this interpretation; Kristian Walsh, a journo who works for LFC.tv. posted the following on his twitter account after Suarez ban was announced:

    Patrice Evra has accused racism of three players before today. All three have been cleared.

    It's probable that he would've had some input into the statement, which was posted on LFC.tv, and his inaccurate view seems to be held by quite a lot of people.

    Additionally, the language in the LFC statement is emphatic:'prior unfounded ACCUSATIONS' *plural*

    The incident to which you refer in the 'battle of the bridge' report is a single incident, and didn't really involve an accusation. Moreover, the FA's report states that Evra's *account* was exaggerated, not his accusation.

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  34. I have also heard that Evra said that he faced racist abuse from Senegalese people because he chose to represent France. Can you shed some light on this?

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  35. With respect, what does this have to do with anything?

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  36. oh I now see that it has been brought up and addressed.

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  37. Sorry, John. All comments containing links get held in the queue before going live (to stop spam etc) Your comment should be live now though.

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  38. Kraken, may i point you to the "soccerlens" article i have posted (and extracted from....sorry about all the repition people!) above....as well as dealing with the racial abuse claim by mike phelan and richard hartis it also addresses the main incident between Evra and Sam Bethell, and particularly the reasoning behind the language used by the fa in their report on the incident.

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  39. Your original quote was "Evra does NOT have a history of making race accusations". Now you only want to make it about accusing other footballers.

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  40. Whether its "obvious" is a moot point - Now youre assuming that LFC implied that Evra made prior racist allegations.  They didn't.  So stick to the facts.
    Evra is on record of providing "exaggerated and unreliable evidence".  He was fined £15,000 and hit with a 4 match ban by the FA.  
    LFC have every right to refer to the unreliability of his "evidence" in the past.  Evidence is all that matters and theres precious little of that.

    Your'e claim that Kristian Walsh "probably" had an input on the LFC statement is total speculation.

    There is no evidence of this whatsoever.

    Evra has a history of being an unreliable witness.  FACT.

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  41. A CHILDISH STATEMENT...GROW UP FFS

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  42. He is a fucking immigrant the fella was not lying ! and he should fuck off back to France but no one would have him play for them in france after the disgraceful world cup fiasco he instigated the prick

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  43. You keep clutching that straw there jj, there are none so blind than those who choose not to see.

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  44. Exactly.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMOWi3PRDJM 

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  45. Its a shame for LFC then that the fa are probably relying on Suarez's confession of guilt as opposed to Evra's evidence. They might have got away with it if it were just Evra's testimony alone.

    ....If only Kop King Kenny couldv stopped Suarez from shooting his mouth of eh?!

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  46. You're scraping the barrell now. Accusations 'against footballers' is obviously implied in that sentence. I didn't think I needed to insult peoples' intelligence by spelling it out.
    Sent from iPhone

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  47. In this context, 'exaggerated and unreliable evidence' has absolutely nothing to do with making race accusations, and that conclusion by the FA does not change the inalienable fact that Evra has only ever made ONE race complaint, and that was against Suarez.

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  48. are you normally this stupid???

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  49. WHo are you people?? Wow, such ignorance!!!

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  50. Hey Jamie, Don't take this the wrong way and please don't ostracize me from future convos. I'm curious to know, after you have written an article has any point(s) made by commenters changed your view on the topic? I think once people have a particular thought stream, it is very difficult to change it. but I do enjoy the healthy discussion

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  51. However wtf does any of this have to do with this matter?
    Suarez has admitted that he used the word and the FA has ruled that he wasn't being sociable when using it..

    Liverpool's approach to this matter is emotional, unbalanced and unwise..

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  52. John,

    The soccerlens article is an opinion piece, written by a Manchester United fan (Scott is a season ticket holder at Old Trafford and is from Manchester, not Surrey. He is almost entirely unrecognisable when not wearing his red-tinted specs, which he carries with him everywhere.).

    As such, it is inherently biased and without any genuine value.

    Kraken

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  53. Reason why Evra does n't make a complaint is that he has most probably said something to start it in the first place bit like against Suarez and got his complaint in first because he realised he had insulted Suarez!

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  54. Have you seen what your United friends have done to This Is Anfield sign Jaimie?

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  55. Hi Colin - I love reading the views of commenters and really appreciate getting different angles on issues. I might disagree with people (and vice versa!), but I appreciate all the opinions. Most people argue their corner when it comes to football and I'm no different, but to answer your question: yes, sometimes I get to see things in a different way as a result of what people post.

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  56. Hi I'm from Singapore and don't really know the laws in UK. But if one if found guilty of being racist shouldn't he be charged in court? Like John Terry?

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  57. OK Jamie, Evra didn't make the accusation on the Chelsea ground, he just PHYSICALLY ATTACKED the person whom he was told (by his mates) made a racist remark towards him. So we have established that Evra doesn't even need to hear a racist attack in order to respond with punches and physical abuse.

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  58. just my 2 cents :)8:59 pm, December 22, 2011

    With all this talk about Suarez using abusive/racist language and the ban being fair / unfair etc, I personally find it interesting that FA did not charge Evra for using  "insulting Luis Suarez in Spanish in the most objectionable of terms."  This is of course based on Liverpool's quote alone - but I figured if this statement was untrue something would have been said of it by now.

    In any case, just wondering since fair is fair. Unless the objectionable term used to insult Suarez was contained no 'racist' comments nor any "threatening, abusive,indecent or insulting words or behaviour." - but that would contradict Evra's alleged admission.

    Furthermore, I find it quite interesting that from most articles/comments I have read  - not just on this site - emphasis is given to any one of the following:
    1. Racism should be stamped out so this is a good outcome for it
    2. Football players are role models and should act in such and such a way.
    3. Suarez is not racist but used a 'racist word'

    What amuses me somewhat is that, based on FA rules:

    A Participant shall at all times act in the best interests of the game and shall not
    act in any manner which is improper or brings the game into disrepute or use any
    one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.

    I find it interesting that teams aren't booked / fined / suspended for say Using offensive language on the field. Effectively the rules are there to stamp out the 'ugly' side of the game. But how many times I have seen once again abusive, indecent or insulting words in the game.

    I look at the results of this Suarez case and the whole emphasis on being anti-racist and think to myself, what have we done prior to deal with all the other perhaps non-racist but indecent actions etc. Not much really unless or least non of which that has gotten such publicity like this case. If a player was given a yellow card and fined and subsequently a red card for every time they hurled for example 'F*** ....' at the referee or something, the reaction to this case I think would have been less. As this would have a been seen already as a consistent approach to anything that is unacceptable as part of the law of the game.

    I am very interested to see where we head with this assuming of course that the ban is not reversed. It would be interesting to if this has changed anything in the way referees and respective parties handle future inappropriate behaviour.

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  59. what is your doubt based on ? I doubt the moon is made of green cheese but I don't know for sure

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  60. just my 2 cents :)9:01 pm, December 22, 2011

    To quote The chairman of anti-racism group Kick It Out, Lord Ouseley "This charge is not saying Luis Suarez is a racist. It's saying, on this occasion, he used racist language."

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  61. Mr Evra is a very unlucky man isn't' he ? All these race rows he gets himself in to....wonder why ???

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  62. just my 2 cents :)9:28 pm, December 22, 2011

    sorry, just to add to that basically I think the charge was for racial abuse as opposed to being racist

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  63. I felt that you are either a racist or you are not, there's no grey area. If you can't prove that he is, then you shouldn't take any action against him. 

    Is very unfair to Suarez because the punishment is so severe now everybody thinks he is a racist.

    This is also getting out of hands with lots of side stories popping up, the T-shirts wore at Wigan, Liverpool statement and Alan Hanson saying the word 'coloured'. 

    And I just want to enjoy watching football!

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  64. What has that got to do with anything? Strange convoluted response. I'm not Jaimie's biggest fan but just admit you're wrong on this one.

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  65. I don't think the " accusations " are limited to the events you have highlighted.

    His initial comments to the French television journalist , was that Suarez used a word 10 Times & that it was clear enough for the cameras to pick it up.

    That's factual ! We do not know what else came up in his testimony , that the club feel was additional " accusations"

    Another would be the comment over the booking , that he was booked because of his colour , that has no been investigated further , yet there are multiple witnesses.

    Evra would have to have given an account of his evens in the past & even if he was not the one to bring about the initial investigations , his role in these events has to be taken into account.

    Is it not uncommon for 1 player to be caught up in so many racial related investigations.....?

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  66. not very bright are you? bless

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  67. Mr. Evran:

    Please accept your race with dignity: there is nothing wrong with being black. with your malignant behaviour, you are the first one to put it down. embrace it, accept it, feel pride of your own race. and let the rest of the football players play football and live in peace.

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  68. It is not the word that makes one a racist - it is the intent and the conduct. That is why political correctness cannot make people better people - what it does is to make them hypocrites and to create a new order of unfairness and injustice.

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  69. So whats your point ?? Suarez BIT one person's ear. What does any of this have to do with the case. Why don't you answer the real questions here ??

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  70. Enough said of Evra but the England FA is rotten to he core no wonder Sapp Blatter despises them.

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  71. Sepp has finally found a friend :)

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  72. Jamie K,
    Can you acknowledge that Evra was the genesis of the insults that took place between him and Suarez by consistently calling Suarez Sud Americanish in Spanish?He wrote this in his testimony to The FA.Is that not against The FA code of conduct?
    You said you like telling the truth why not mention this in your article for ManU fans to read also.
    Let me tell you that I regret why you are permitted to publish your articles in our site.
    Thanks

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  73. No ill tell you the real reason. Fergie has be Fa, the gustapo, kremlin and Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible team - all in his pocket. Thats the real reason. Believe it. Please.

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  74. Will Jaimie acknowledging this 'fact' which has not been proven as of yet, help you sleep at night ?? If yes ?? Then a call out to Jaimie - Please Acknowledge. As for Jaimie being allowed to publish articles on 'OUR' site. I always believed Jaimie runs this website. Anyways I could be wrong.

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  75. Totally agreed Jamie - another myth that has been conclusively exposed is the one that LFC has the most intelligent fans.

    I don't visit other club sites and forums, so only get to see their input on LFC related and general footballing issues, but it is very doubtful that they can be much more ignorant than the nonsensecial fans I've seen posting representing LFCrecently

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  76. Why does it matter if I acknowledge it? I'm just a fan with an opinion, just like you; just like everyone else. If there is cast-iron evidence then of course I would acknowledge it; why wouldn't I? Do you have prove of what Evra said to Suarez? if so, please post it. And even if it does turn out to be true, it doesn't change what Suarez said, and doesn't make it suddenly okay.

    And Barry is right - I run this site, and I wo't be censoring myself anytime soon. Sorry.

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  77. Jamie you sound as if you have proof of Suarez racial claim too.Well if you have,as I assume you have it from The FA,then obvious you will realise that Evra in his writen testimony to The FA acknowledge he said to Suarez in Spanish"don't touch me Sud Americana".
    DO you again acknowledge that that is against The FA code of conduct to players?
    What am saying is you would have balanced you article by at least mention that Evra did start the insult.OKAY?

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  78. You are not a true fan if you can't support your club or your players. Evra is a disgraceful human being who is just using the race card once again. as for you Jamie, I think you need to go write for another club mate, your obviously not a true red.

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  79. Hopefully those tribal-minded section of Liverpool and other fans will finally realise what has been said in this article by Mr Kanwar.

    Oh and hopefully Liverpool FC will realise this as well, considering their angry little statement.

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  80. actually Evra had 2 bookable offences in the game and in order to avoid  him the second yellow the ref booked (if i remember well) rooney instead

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  81.  http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/793670/ce/uk/?cc=5739&ver=global

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  82. Thanks for having the balls to post this.

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  83. What an unbelievably idiotic thing to say to someone who actually runs a site dedicated to Liverpool football club and its players. 

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  84. Haha ffs,

    "You're not a true red if you don't defend us even if it means making stuff up la. YNWA etc..."

    Pathetic.

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  85. no. negro does though

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  86. no we haven't. you have

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  87. True, and you can't tell me that on a pitch in the middle of a heated football game with your fierce rivals, Suarez using the word "negro" was supposed to have no intention of malice behind it.

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  88. To all the posters who have mentioned Evra's alleged remarks towards Suarez; why haven't LFC complained about it then? Seriously, put the conspiracy theories aside and tell the FA. Unless of course, it's just a stab in the dark intended as some misguided form of damage control.

    Jaimie, thanks for saying this. For on-pitch antics, Evra is almost as bad as Suarez. However, he has handled himself well in the wake of this incident. So have ManU actually, most unusually. This has made make Liverpool's antics look that much worse ... I mean, if an employer in most other professions made a similarly scurrilous claim, they'd be opening themselves to legal action.

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  89. if he didn't file a case, why he was given a four match ban?? can someone shed light on it

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  90. i actually agree with this comment. the multi millionaire part should have been omitted however what this person is actually trying to say i belive to be is what is wrong with our societies view of what racism actually is. this is clearly a footballing incident and i belive it to be no different to calling lets say rooney a fat b*****d had the incident been with him. however if evra was targeted specifically because of the colour of his skin and not because of a footballing incident this would be wrong but like i said this was a footballing incident and so not racist. in fact the word racist should be removed from our vocabulary as this is stating that there is something wrong with being a different race and should be replaced with the phrase racially victimised. racism is just a way of black people saying you cant call me this or that because i am embarrassed about the colour of my skin and is no different to fatist. i am proud of my orgins and if other people have a problem with theres then that is there problem and nobody elses.

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  91. we all have emotions but if this had been with you and you were called carrot top, tin head, ginna or any other comment about the colour of you hair would you have gone crying to the fa?  

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  92. Barry: it's not Uruguay. It's spanish language, from Spain to Mexico and Argentina. The word "negro" has no racial meaning by itself. It's the spanish word for black.

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  93. It is shameful some of things LFC have come out with.

    Any large organisation, Football club or otherwise, should take a few days to think clearly and calmly before speaking. To check facts. To be moderate and sensible.

    Clubs influence fans. Clubs can raise tensions, tempers and blood pressures all round. There's a degree of responsibility that has to be maintained.

    Official statements cannot be taken back- they're always there to be re-read.

    LFC have acted in such an extraordinarily stupid way that if I were an LFC fan (I'm an LCFC man myself!) I'd be SO angry at how they are ruining the reputation of my club.

    You cannot be seen to falsely denigrate the character of someone who is claiming to have been racially abused, regardless of whether you believe him or not. It's just incredibly bad form.

    If this were a large Public Sector organisation, the Chief Executive would have already tendered their resignation.

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  94. Hi John, you are not a true football fan. Most (99%+) Liverpool fans and supporters are though.

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  95. Liverpool legal representative : Peter McCormick OBE
    OBE?
    One Bad Explanation????

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  96. The report states that KD went into the refs room and said - hasn't he done this kind of thing before - so in a way you are right, lfc didn't make the allegations, KD did. LFC have scored a massive PR own goal and continue to do so with this latest release.

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  97. I think your tinfoil hat might have slipped a little!! 

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  98. Sad, is perpetuating a new word for you that had to go overboard?
    Facts
    *Evra - heard comment,
    *Suarez - Admits he used the word Negro
    On-line dictionary:
    Anthropology . a member of the peoples traditionally classified as the Negro race, especially those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa: no longer in technical use.
    Suarez states he meant the meaning of the word in his mother tongue, Evra thinks he used the one it means of his mother tongue Portuguese  "black".
    Neither parties even Evra believe Suarez is a Racist, but we condemning him for saying a racist comment. Crazy.
    I'm sorry every other story written or blog added on the topic is someone looking for 2mins of fame. His taking a ban, a fine, and a lot of criticism.
    Let the boy be, Christmas has just pass and i would like to reflect he who has never sinned cast the first stone. There is not a male, female, white, black, Spanish, Indian, wealthy or poor person on this planet that has never said something that has not sounded racist indirectly or directly.
    So let it be Media, we come together for soccer, football - this is making Hollywood out of nothing.
    Oh and all United fans - i've seen sad things from your past, players swearing directly at camera's, tackles on supporters, spitting on media, paying off referee's. So F*** off and stop playing innocent, you are the worst set of fans out there, enjoy the drop to bottom cause that's surely where you will be going. Karma is a bitch.

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  99. As a Man U fan from way back, I've always had a soft spot for Liverpool. I think it stems from a game at OT in the early '60s that ended in a 3-3 draw.  I can't even remember the sequence of goals but the lead changed hands a few times and what I DO remember was that it was a fantastic game, with a fantastic spirit among players and fans on both sides - the beautiful game at its best.  I think the game was watershed that proved Liverpool belonged among the best teams in Div.1 - they had been newly promoted.  And I picked that day to bring an American pal to the game who had never watched football before.  So, all I can say is let's be rivals but let's be pals, and for heavens sake let's not encourage players who can't control themselves just because they wear our shade of  red.

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  100. If Evra complained about a white person calling him a monkey, we would all agree that the comment is racist, so why is it different if it comes from Senegalese?

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