Suarez and just the tip

EXODUS GEOHAGHON can forgive Luis Suarez, but fi nds it diffi cult to understand why the racist fans who drove him out of his own club have never been punished.

He is the Mansfi eld centre- half who will have to tame Suarez on Sunday if the non- Leaguers are going to knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup.

But Geohaghon, 27, was almost forced out of football when racist Port Vale fans turned on him. He never played for them again after ugly scenes last year as he left the fi eld following a 3- 0 reversal at Accrington.

Now, as Geohaghon, a 6ft5in dreadlocked giant of a man, is putting his career back together, he comes into close contact with Suarez, who was banned for eight matches and fi ned £ 40,000 for racially abusing Patrice Evra of Manchester United.

Geohaghon, with the rain at Mansfi eld’s One Call Stadium pouring down, talks powerfully and openly about what happened to him. “It changed my outlook on football because the situation happened with my own fans,” he said. “As much as I know it was frustration because I was brought in by the manager [ Jim Gannon] and there were others they would have preferred, it got over the top and went too far.

“It is creeping in here, there and everywhere and it needs to be stamped out. We got booed last Saturday and a few things were said to the boys and that is not really the way forward. Fans need to take a step back and really look at this. If somebody came into their work and started to slate them, they would not like it.” In very ugly scenes, Geohaghon was called a “n*****” during an explosive post- match confrontation and, to his face, was told “I’m gonna kill you, you n***** r c***,” as a group of 30 fans waited for him.

Port Vale advised him to stay away for his own safety and eventually his loan period ended and he went back to play for Peterborough.

That was only 22 months ago, but was brought back to mind when Suarez used the word ‘ negrito’, allegedly 10 times, in his clashes with Evra in October.

“With Suarez, it was a culture thing. Some things that are appropriate for him and where he is from are just not appropriate here,” said Geohaghon.

“But it is down to the football club to educate their players when they come over here.

“You can see that in Russia with Zenit, they have got that situation and it is down to the club to educate their