Suarez in the dock again over handshake allegations

By Jonathan Wilson Feb 11, 2012, 19:08 GMT

London - Luis Suarez was the centre of controversy again on Saturday following allegations that he had failed to shake the hand of Patrice Evra.

The Liverpool forward last week completed an eight game ban imposed after he was found guilty of racially abusing the United left-back - although he still disputes the charge.

When the two met in the pre-match handshake at Old Trafford, it is alleged Suarez refused to shake Evra's hand.

Slow-motion replays suggest Evra may have flinched as Suarez approached, perhaps leading the Uruguayan to skip on to the next player in line.

What is true, though, is that when Evra grabbed Suarez's forearm, presumably to complete the handshake, the Uruguayan angrily shook him off.

'He's a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club, that certain player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again,' said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, clearly blaming Suarez for the incident..

'The history that club's got and he does that and in a situation like today could have caused a riot. I was really disappointed in that guy, it was terrible what he did.

'It created a tension, you've seen the referee didn't know what to do about it. It caught him off guard. It was a terrible start to the game, a terrible atmosphere it created.'

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, however, backed his man. 'I think you're very severe and I think you're bang out of order to blame Luis Suarez for anything that happened here today,' he said when asked about Suarez's conduct.

'I think predominantly both sets of fans behaved really well, they had a bit of banter between each other, no problem. How many bookings were there?'

There were two, but there were also two moments at which police and stewards had to intervene as players squared up to each other, and suggestions Evra sought out Suarez at half-time.

United defender Rio Ferdinand refused to shake Suarez's hand, while there was notably minimal contact between Suarez and Welbeck. Both Ferdinand and Welbeck are black.

'I lost all respect for the guy,' Ferdinand said later. 'After seeing what he did, I decided I couldn't shake his hand.'

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