At last Suarez says he’s sorry as Anfield admit errors

ENEMIES: Manchester United’s Patrice Evra on the receiving end of a diatribe that apparently included the word “negro” from Liverpool’s Luis Suarez during their English Premier League match. LONDON: Luis Suarez has issued a public apology for using the word “negro” during his side’s match against Manchester United, as Liverpool provided the first indication that they might have better handled a case which has left the club’s reputation badly tarnished.

The Uruguayan, who has started an eight-game ban after his conviction by a Football Association-appointed independent regulatory commission, did not refer to Patrice Evra by name in his apology – to whom the offending word was directed at Anfield – and he insisted that he had said the word once, not seven times, as the commission found.

But the first sign of contrition is a significant one from Liverpool, who also now intend to seek discussions with the FA about a disciplinary procedure which they believe to be deeply flawed. The club are likely to first approach FA chairman David Bernstein to seek a dialogue on how the system might be changed and to push for an inquiry.

Though they do not appear to have reached firm conclusions about the systemic changes required, they are likely to suggest a far greater burden of proof to convict a player of using a reference to another’s ethic origin in an abusive way – as Suarez did.

All the evidence used to convict Suarez was circumstantial and would not have seen him convicted in a criminal court.

Liverpool may also suggest that the FA should not select the members of a commission who rule in such cases. They are not appealing against the commission’s decision as they do not believe a second hearing would overturn the conclusions.

Though manager Kenny Dalglish remains indignant, the apology is certainly an important first staging post in repairing relations with the FA, whom the manager has accused of systematic bias, claiming evidence was deliberately withheld from the commission’s final report.

“I admitted to the commission that I said a word in Spanish once and only once and I told the panel members that I will not use it again on any football pitch in England,” Suarez said. “I never, ever, used this word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I want to subsequently presented then as expert witnesses and appeared to face an uphill task when the commission ruled that it would rule on whether Suarez’s language was, objectively speaking, insulting, rather than whether the player intended them to be abusive – the so-called ‘subjective test.’

But there is also a growing belief the club made a fundamental mistake in offering what proved to be flawed evidence in the first hour after Evra’s accusation.

Dalglish enlisted the club’s director of football, Damien Comolli, to speak to Suarez and pass on to referee Andre Marriner the way in which the striker had used the word ‘negro.’

This contradicted later ver- sions the Uruguayan offered, leading Liverpool to reflect that a more streetwise club would have said nothing without lawyers on hand.

There is also a growing acceptance that a less naive approach to the issue might have led the club to conclude very early on that, with the use of ‘negro’ immediately putting Suarez at risk of a heavy ban, they should seek conciliation on his behalf and advise an immediate discreet apology for any offence caused.

The player should certainly have been warned of the dangers of publicly discussing his use of ‘negro’ before an interview for El Pais which fatally undermined his perceived reliability as a witness. – Belfast Telegraph