Anfield Road

LUIS SUÁREZ has issued another statement following on from his decision not to appeal the eight-match ban issued by an independent commission after it found an FA charge against him proven. In this latest statement he says he apologises if his use of a certain Spanish word offended anyone.

Suárez says: “I admitted to the commission that I said a word in Spanish once, and only once, and I told the panel members that I will not use it again on a football pitch in England. I never, ever used this word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I want to apologise for that.”

The word Suarez admitted to using was “negro”, the Spanish word for “black”, although the initial accusation against him from Patrice Evra, the player he said it to, was that he’d used a much stronger word.

Evra told the match referee that Suárez had called him that stronger word five times. However, in the interview the same day that led to the allegations being made public, Evra told Canal+ it was twice as many times. A tweet from a member of Canal+ staff quoted Evra as saying Suárez had said “a certain word to me at least 10 times. No place for that in 2011.”

Eventually the panel split the difference on Evra’s two figures and decided Suárez had used the word (now accepted by Evra as being the word Suárez admitted to using and not the stronger one in his initial accusations) seven times. But Suárez insists he said it only once.

The panel came to the figure of seven by making certain assumptions based on Evra’s version of events and body language they’d picked up from – as yet unreleased – video evidence.

At the end of their 115 page report the panel made it clear that both the FA and Evra did not think Suárez was “a racist”:

“The Charge against Mr Suarez was that he used insulting words which included a reference to Mr Evra’s colour. We have found that Charge proved on the evidence and arguments put before us. The FA made clear that it did not contend that Mr Suarez acted as he did because he is a racist. Mr Evra said in his evidence that he did not think Mr Suarez is a racist. Mr Suarez said in evidence that he will not use the word “negro” on a football pitch in England in the future, and we believe that is his genuine and firm intention.”

The FA are yet to respond to enquiries as to why Evra wasn’t charged for threatening behaviour, something he admitted to doing twice in his own evidence, telling Suárez: “I’m going to punch you.”

Using threatening behaviour is a breach of The FA’s rule E3(1) which in turn is considered to be “Misconduct” under rule E1(3).

Rule E3(1) forbids players and other participants from using any one or a combination of “violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.”

The same rule, therefore, calls into question Evra’s initial outburst, as admitted by Evra himself, to Suárez. The phrase he used, translated by the linguistic experts called by the panel as “your sister’s c***”, would certainly be considered indecent in English.

There would also be a question as to whether or not that phrase would invoke E3(2), which refers to additional punishment if the breach of E3(1) includes “a reference to any one or more of a person’s ethnic origin, colour, race, nationality, faith, gender, sexual orientation or disability.” The FA have yet to respond to queries about the admitted use of indecent words by Patrice Evra.

Punishing Evra for those admitted breaches of the FA’s rules would not reduce Suárez’s ban and given the panel were aware of them when making their decision nobody would expect it to. But it would at least show that the FA were consistent about applying their own rules in the way they were written.

To ignore the issue increases resentment towards a governing body that is increasingly leaving the game’s participant feeling disillusioned. Today Joey Barton lost an appeal against a ban he got after getting a red card for what looked no worse than what Clint Dempsey did to Craig Bellamy at Fulham. Dempsey’s punishment was a yellow card, with the referee also booking Bellamy for reasons that remain unexplained. Referees, backed by the FA, demand “respect” – yet the FA and the referees show very little to players and supporters by making inconsistent decisions without having the decency to explain why.

The smaller-minded football fan has celebrated the Suárez decision (literally) but it isn’t just Liverpool fans who are doubting the verdict and penalties from The FA’s panel and also the way the investigation was conducted.

Perhaps some kind of immunity was offered to Evra before he made his statement and that was why his misconduct hasn’t been charged. His ‘honesty’ in admitting to making the indecent remark about Suárez’s sister played a part in the panel deciding he was the more trustworthy of the two players.

Whether Suárez was honest in how – and how often – he used that word or not there is one fact that does stand out.

Suárez admitted to using the word “negro”. If Suárez had denied using the word completely, would this case have even got as far as the charge? If Suárez thought there was anything wrong with the use of the word would he have admitted to even using it once?

The deterrent of the eight-game ban will no doubt have the desired effect on some players – but what kind of effect will come from the panel’s decision to reward Evra for honesty whilst punishing Suárez for the same?

The inconsistencies in the panel’s treatment of different individuals and the FA’s inconsistency in not charging Evra for his own misconduct mirrors the inconsistency seen far too often from the governing body and the game’s officials. Their ignorance in refusing to explain the inconsistencies displays the kind of arrogance that breeds contempt much like that aimed so often last year at FIFA.

Sepp Blatter’s handshake theory was wrong. But – at the complete opposite end of the scale – is the ‘best lawyer wins’ approach much better?

Liverpool, and its fans, aren’t angry because they are going to miss Suárez for eight games. The anger is at the feeling their player is being made out to be something he isn’t, because of a process that was more interested in proving a point than finding the truth.

Suárez is sorry if anyone was offended, but this still feels a long way from being over.