REAX: Suarez "let Liverpool down and himself down" - former players

By Ben James Feb 12, 2012, 11:01 GMT

London - A host of former Liverpool players say striker Luis Suarez let the Premier League club down and let himself down by refusing to shake the hand of Manchester United's Patrice Evra before their match at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Suarez was banned for eight matches after he was found to have racially abused the Frenchman when the two sides met earlier in the season.

Both clubs had insisted that the two men would shake hands in the traditional pre-match warm-up but Suarez then ignored Evra's offering. Suarez scored Liverpool's goal but United won the match 2-1 to go top of the Premier League.

The incident caused fury from United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who branded the Uruguayan a 'disgrace to his club' and suggested he should be sold.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, whose handling of the entire situation has been criticized in many quarters, said he had not seen the incident but again defended his player.

'I think you're very severe and bang out of order to blame Luis Suarez for anything that happened here today,' he said. 'Both sets of fans behaved really well, there was banter between each other, no problem.'

But former Liverpool captain Alan Hansen, now working as a television pundit on BBC and one of Dalglish's closest friends, said Suarez's actions were 'totally unacceptable.'

'The rhetoric from both clubs before the game was restraint,' Hansen said on BBC's Match of the Day programme.

'Liverpool said there would be a handshake so for Suarez to snub Evra is totally unacceptable. Liverpool have given Suarez total support through thick and thin and I think he's let Kenny down, he's let the club down and he's let himself down.'

Former Liverpool winger John Barnes, who was subjected to enormous abuse throughout his career because he is black, said he could not believe what he was seeing.

'When I saw it live and they didn't shake hands, it just amazed me,' he said. 'I can't imagine after everything that has gone on this week that this was not discussed by Liverpool in terms of are they going to shake hands or not.

'It's a big shock and was compounded by Evra at the end (celebrating close to Suarez) and then Sir Alex Ferguson (saying Suarez should be sold). It's not a good day from a PR perspective for either club.'

But Barnes also said the incident was not as big as some people will make out. 'For me, we are making a mountain out of a molehill,' he said. 'There are worse things happening in the world.'

Former Liverpool striker Kevin Keegan said Suarez had ruined the chance to put an end to the saga but also criticized United for their actions on the day.

'To come out and say a player shouldn't play for another club that you have no control of, I think is wrong,' Keegan said of Ferguson's claims. 'Instead of calming this down, they've allowed it to escalate.

'They are the two biggest clubs in this country in terms of winning things and I think both clubs at different times have handled it badly, I think Liverpool in the beginning very badly.

'Today was a chance to say to the player: 'Shake his hand and get on with it' and then there's nothing to say. Then Evra after the game, why would he want to do that? He's won his case, the guy's got a lengthy ban, just keep quiet. You've won the game.'

United defender Rio Ferdinand refused to shake Suarez's hand after seeing his snub towards Evra and said he had 'lost all respect for the guy.'

'He has not got the respect that he needs to acknowledge he's made a mistake and say sorry and move on from that. It could have been resolved between the two players today. After this, it's not great.'

And the Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor says Liverpool's owners should step in to deal with the matter.

'It is a matter for the owners. This has to be dealt with at the highest level to resolve this festering mess,' he said.

'If (Suarez) is going to ignore the decision of a manager then he has to be disciplined, or you get the tail wagging the dog.'

And Taylor suggested that Dalglish's unstinting support of Suarez throughout the affair may have made the row worse.

'Such a support and denial of any liability has probably encouraged what happened,' he said. 'I'm extremely concerned that it has reached this level now.

'It's going to have to be sorted by the FA, the Premier League, the PFA, the League Managers' Association.'