Good, bad and ugly of soccer
IT WAS a super Sunday for soccer fans across the globe. Tottenham Hotspur, fighting for a place in the Champions League, easily overcame Manchester City, which all but guaranteed Man United the title for the 20th time.
But it was the LiverpoolChelsea clash which provided the best entertainment with the good, the bad and the ugly. It kept Anfield roaring and fans around the world on their feet. And in the thick of it all was Luis Suarez, the Premier League’s leading goalscorer, who troubled Chelsea with both his skill and villainy.
Chelsea were heading for a comfortable 2-1 victory which would send them back to third, above Arsenal, on the Premier League table when controversial Suarez, literally and figuratively, bit back. In a tussle with Chelsea’s defender Branislav Ivanovic, he sank his teeth into the defender’s arm, sending him to the ground in pain. Incredible, but amusing. Then, in the dying seconds of the game, he made up for the penalty he gave away with his handball when he headed a wonderful goal, sending the Anfield crowd into paroxysms of joy and Chelsea stunned into silence, robbed of a win.
Diving, stamping, biting, handling the ball and racially abusing his opponents, Suarez brims with talent and controversy. While at Ajax he got a seven-match ban for biting an opponent. Then he got an eight-match ban for racially abusing Man United’s Patrice Evra. Now he’s plunged Liverpool into another controversy. Critics have condemned his behaviour and want him banned again. Suarez has apologised profusely for his behaviour. Love him or hate him, it would be such a pity if he doesn’t win the FA player of the year award. T MARKANDAN
Silverglen