Liverpool FC: 10 Reasons Why the Club Are Right to Back Luis Suarez

So Suarezgate is finally over.

Liverpool have begrudgingly accepted the eight-match ban for Luis Suarez, and his ban started with immediate effect in their last match of 2011 against Newcastle. All’s well and good, and Liverpool will meet Manchester United in the FA Cup once again.

Or is it?

Suarez and Liverpool have borne the ire of many fans around the country and even the globe, with the former being labeled a racist and jeered everywhere he goes, and the latter painted as a club that has undone all the good work that English football has done to eradicate racism.

But for such a high-profile case as Suarez’s, it is curious, to say the least, that Liverpool have so staunchly backed their man. So staunchly, in fact, that manager Kenny Dalglish has gone on record saying that he wishes to elaborate no more on his club’s stance and his own thoughts in case he risks further punishment by the FA.

Why is it that Liverpool have defended Suarez so strongly?

This article will look at 10 reasons that Liverpool have made a right decision, from their perspective, in backing their No. 7 all the way. I implore you to hold back your opinions until after you’ve read through my attempt at a flowing analysis—and then, by all means, please discuss away.

Team Spirit

As they always say, the team comes first. And in this case, it’s no different.

What kind of message would it send to the Liverpool players if the club hadn’t backed Suarez all the way?

A message that a mistake is not tolerated at the club.

In an organization that relies so much on the teamwork and cooperation between its on-field employees, the best way to keep morale up would be to support an erred employee.

Now onto the Suarez shirts, which the entire team famously wore during their pre-Wigan warm-up.

Perhaps it’s slightly fortunate that the vast majority of the Liverpool team are white. The only exception in the first team, Glen Johnson, has come out with his full support of Suarez. Perhaps if any other first team regulars were black, we might gain further insight on the state of affairs within the dressing on the case.

As it turned out, Liverpool’s players seemed united in their support for Suarez, and his apparent popularity within the squad might have helped.

Genuine Belief That Suarez Is Innocent

Underlying this, perhaps, is a genuine belief that Suarez was in fact innocent, as Kenny Dalglish has continued to emphasize,

Liverpool put out a strongly-worded statement in response to the FA’s findings and conclusions, and the players also issued an official defence of their teammate.

Both statements mentioned the belief of the club and the players that Suarez is not racist and is a great member of the Anfield dressing room.

Considering that the entire exchange between Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez was only heard by the two players in question, the Liverpool staff have naturally backed Suarez to the hilt.

It seems that they really believe Suarez was wrongly accused.

A Justified Defence Against a Murky Accusation

It’s a well-documented fact that the evidence used by the FA, the panel and the jury (which some have said to be one and the same) was video evidence.

The players’ testimonies at the hearing were the crucial part in completing the story.

I won’t touch on the logical holes found in the FA report until later in this article, so here’s a simple comparison of Liverpool’s responses towards two Suarez-related scenarios.

Compare Liverpool’s official Suarezgate response to that of Suarez’s middle-finger controversy against Fulham.

With the clear video and pictorial evidence of Suarez’s obscene gesture against the Fulham fans, it was very clear that the case of cultural and language difference would not play a part in interpreting his actions on that occasion. Faced with a sensible disciplinary action against Suarez, Liverpool made no complaints about the FA’s imposing of a one-match ban on him.

Had the evidence been as clear cut in the Evra case, one would expect Liverpool’s response to have been vastly different.

Keeping Suarez at Liverpool and in England

After the team comes the individual.

And in this case, the individual in question is quite central to the team’s future plans and successes.

Luis Suarez, as recognized by Liverpool’s coaching staff, playing staff and fans, is no ordinary football player. He is a player blessed with the talent that makes him one of the club’s best, and on him hinges the hopes of silverware, a return to the top tier of English football and, of course, commercial opportunities.

How easy would it be for Suarez to walk away from a club that he think doesn’t support him?

A lesser concern, but one just as relevant, is Suarez’s standing in the Premier League.

Prior to this messy affair and regardless of his drop in reputation, Suarez remains one of the Premier League’s mercurial talents, capable of the unexpected, exciting audiences and drawing crowds. In a recent few years where a few of the league’s most famous stars have departed for seemingly greener pastures (see Cristiano Ronaldo and Cesc Fabregas), England would be forgiven for wanting to keep one of their star attractions.

Reputation of the English Premier League

But at risk, of course, is the reputation of the Premier League itself.

For all their star turns, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A have drawn considerable attention and controversy in recent years with highlighted instances of racist abuse towards players, mostly from fans.

England have always enjoyed the moral high ground in the racism debate, with the administration and fans constantly referencing the good work that all parties have done towards eradicating on-field (and off-field) racism.

So naturally, no club would want to be at the center of a racism controversy. And the further Liverpool attempt to distance themselves and their star player from an accusation, the more concerted the attempt to paint the league as one free of discrimination.

Reputation of the Club

And then we go back to the club itself.

At the center of all the controversy and the discussion is Liverpool Football Club, who, for all the talk about a fall from prestige and a 20-plus-year title drought, remains one of English football’s most decorated and famous clubs, both for its historical achievements and for its renowned family-oriented and passionate fanbase.

The Kop has maintained its reputation as one of Europe’s, never mind England’s, most famous club support. The famous Scouse humor on show at Anfield has been praised by all kinds of fans, players and coaches around the world.

So, at risk of harming this reputation as an attraction to foreign players and foreign fans, who themselves come from all kinds of diverse backgrounds, Liverpool have staunchly defended against accusations that potentially undermine all of that.

It's Manchester United

Before you jump ahead and question if I’m implying that Liverpool wouldn’t back Suarez and appeal the FA’s findings as strongly if Manchester United weren’t the other party in this case, that is not my intention.

I am simply guessing that the rivalry between these two great clubs, and the fact that Sir Alex Ferguson said that Suarez did indeed abuse Evra right off the bat and subsequently advised that Liverpool should refrain from further comments on the case until the official findings were released, would stoke the flames.

And many a Liverpool fan or coach believe that Manchester United have always gotten favorable rulings over Liverpool.

This was highlighted in Rafa Benitez’s famous “facts” outburst against United, which unhelpfully helped United’s schadenfreude when Liverpool fell at the last hurdle in the 2008-2009 title race.

In a season and year that has seen United’s Wayne Rooney come away with a two-match ban for swearing into a live camera and the debate on the Hillsborough Disaster come alive again, Liverpool might feel that they have once again been treated unfairly by the FA.

Perhaps all they wanted to do was to petition for a fair trial.

The FA's Hypocrisy

It certainly doesn’t help that the FA decided to appeal Rooney’s three-match ban for the group stages of the upcoming European Championships, a ban he sustained following violent conduct on the pitch against Montenegro.

The likes of Kenny Dalglish, David Moyes, Harry Redknapp and Tony Pulis have voiced their displeasure at the FA for adopting double standards in the appeal.

Violent conduct, they said, should warrant a three-match ban in UEFA’s rules. What message were the FA sending out by appealing a punishment for unwanted on-field behavior by one of England’s most volatile and controversial football players?

The FA haven’t been helped by subsequent accusations that they themselves are motivated by an ulterior motive.

One against FIFA’s Sepp Blatter, who caused a stir following his PR blunder on the subject of racism in football.

And Liverpool feel that Suarez has been made an example by an FA pursuing their own political agenda.

Logical Holes in the FA Report

And now, we arrive at the details of the findings themselves.

It doesn’t, and it shouldn’t, take a Liverpool fan or a legal expert to look closely at the FA’s 115-page report and see that it is full of logical holes.

There will be far more authoritative and knowledgeable voices on this topic than myself, so I will refrain from dissecting the verdict in as much detail as some of my fellow contributors and other writers online, and instead direct you to further articles in the last section of this one.

However, the point that Liverpool have constantly stressed is the inconsistency of the report itself. For a finding based on heavily on witness credibility and the probability of events taking place, the FA report has been accused of serving a self-fulfilling prophecy, one that goes along with a pre-determined decision.

That certainly hasn't sat well with the Liverpool hierarchy.

Evra's Stand

Finally, there is the question about Patrice Evra as a credible witness.

The FA have outspokenly stated that Evra was a more credible witness in the hearing, but a closer look at the FA report sees inconclusive evidence that Suarez should be considered less reliable.

If anything, Evra’s inconsistencies in his answers about the number of times he was abused draw attention, and his choice of words in retaliation and response to Suarez was by no means conciliatory either.

Again, I prefer directing you to articles that analyze the plotholes in much more detail, but if Suarez’s use of a term that linguistic experts have concluded to be non-racist in his cultural context, what of Evra’s use of blatant obscenities referring to a female sibling’s body parts? And of the jury’s decision that some of Evra’s outbursts were merely “figures of speech”?

To Liverpool, the conclusions seem like double standards all around. And that is the basis of their ferocious appeal and backing of Luis Suarez in this unsavory affair, that the most important thing is a fair trial.

Comments and Further Reading

A disclaimer might be useful here: This article was an assignment by the powers-that-be at Bleacher Report. Some of my readers might be familiar with my stance against the blinkered support of Suarez by Liverpool fans, and my views on that have not changed. However, it has been interesting to look at the case from a different angle, and perhaps, just perhaps, Liverpool’s case might have a considerable substance to it.

I must first say that I have learned a lot about the case during my preparations for this article. This is definitely not a complete picture of Suarezgate, but I took a plunge into Liverpool’s shoes and made a case for them.

For further reading (obviously from Liverpool’s perspective, to wrap up this for-Liverpool article), please take a look at the following pieces. There may be some bias towards Liverpool in their analyses, considering they are, after all, from Liverpool fans, but taking a step back and looking at the dissections at face value might just paint a different picture.

Enjoy, and I appreciate any comments below as usual.

Rob Gutmann: The Curious Case of the Racist Non-Racist

Rory Smith: Hypocrisy The English Disease

Paul Tomkins: Suarez Still Not A Racist

Nigel Scott: Why Suarez's Suspension is Way Too Harsh