BARCELONA STRIKER LUIS Suarez says he is happy to be labelled a
“biter or a diver” but insists he is no racist, despite being banned for
eight games in 2011 for abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra while
at Liverpool.
The Uruguay star’s career has been littered with episodes of
indiscipline, with his suspension three years ago proceeded by a 10-game
punishment for biting Branislav Ivanovic in April 2013 and a four-month
ban from football after chewing on the shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini at
the World Cup.
However, though Suarez has now acknowledged he was wrong to
physically attack both players in his new autobiography, he maintains
his innocence over the incident involving himself and Evra.
“Call me a biter or a diver, but I’m not a racist. I was banned for
eight games and, much worse, got labelled a racist for life. It’s a
serious accusation,” the Guardian reveals in an extract from the
attacker’s new book.
“It hurts because of how it affects me, it hurts because my wife had
to suffer too through the hearing, watching me getting accused of being
someone she knows I’m not, and it hurts because in the future the stain
will still be there when my children grow up. It’s a slur on my name
that no one can take away.
“Did I use the Spanish word ‘negro’ in an argument that took place,
in Spanish, with Patrice Evra on 15 October 2011 in a game between
Liverpool and Manchester United?
“Yes.
“Is the word ‘negro’ the same in Spanish as it is in English?
“No, absolutely not.
“Am I a racist?
“No, absolutely not.
“I was horrified when I first realised that is what I was being
accused of. And I’m still sad and angry to think that this is a stain on
my character that will probably be there forever.”
The 27-year-old made his official Barcelona debut at the weekend in
the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid after serving his four-month
ban.
Source: http://www.thescore.ie
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