A Fight Football Cannot Lose

Sir Alex Ferguson insists the fight against racism is one that English football cannot afford to lose.

The United manager was stunned to see Liverpool's Luis Suarez refuse to shake hands with Patrice Evra ahead of Saturday's encounter, and he insists that the Uruguayan - banned for eight games for racially abusing the Frenchman - was out of line.

On the thorny issue of whether or not the pre-match handshake - a Barclays Premier League requirement - should have been waived, the manager told Sky Sports: "It’s never been a problem really, up until this situation regarding racism. There’s never been a problem.

"So really we need to get our house in order in terms of fighting racism because it’s an issue, it’s an absolutely important issue. In this country football has come a long way from the days when John Barnes had bananas thrown at him, to where we are today, and we can’t go back. We have to go forward in a positive way and ban it altogether."

The Boss condemned Evra's exuberant post-match celebrations, saying: "He shouldn't have done that," after revealing that he had discussed the matter with his stand-in captain this morning.

"I couldn’t believe it, I just could not believe it," he said. "Patrice and I had a chat this morning and he said: ‘I’m going to shake his hand. I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of, I want to keep my dignity’, and he refuses!

"He (Suarez) is a disgrace to Liverpool football club – that player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool football club again. The history that club’s got, and he does that... in a situation like today he could have caused a riot.

"I was really disappointed in that guy, I thought it was terrible, what he did. It created a tension. You saw the referee: he didn’t know what to do about it. It caught him off guard and it was a terrible start to the game. A terrible atmosphere, it created."


Tension: Patrice Evra & Luis Suarez