Much ado
about “the snubbed handshake” by Luis Suarez on Patrice Evra
by rick olivares
I am sorry but I think that people are
making mountains out of molehills about Luis Suarez’ refusal to shake Patrice
Evra’s hand before the Liverpool-Manchester United match last Saturday. Since
when do you have to be friendly with an opponent? I am of course, not making
light of racism having experienced it while working abroad. I do not like it
and do not believe it has any place in today’s society or sports events. Now whether
Suarez actually uttered such abuse on Evra or not, the Uruguayan (whose
grandfather is black) was served a suspension (whether rightly or wrongly). But
so what if he refused to shake Evra’s hand? If I were Manchester United, I’d go
kick Liverpool’s butt. Oh, you mean they did? Damn.
Isn’t it farcical when teams shake
hands prior to kick off and during the match they engage in shoving matches and
what not? Case in point in yesterday’s UAAP men’s football match between UP and
DSLU. At one point during the first half, the Maroons skipper Nathan Octavio
and Green Archer striker Gio Diamante were battling for ball possession when
the latter slightly pushed the former but not even enough to cause him to fall
or lose his balance. Octavio exploded and angrily raised his fists but the
referee and other players stepped in between. So much for the pre-game shake of
hands.
On the other hand, there’s also the
matter of not shaking hands after a game.
In the recent Australian Open, Czech tennis pro Tomas Berdych refused to shake
the hand of Nicolas Almagro after he defeated the latter in a fourth round
five-setter. During the match, Almagro hit Berdych in the arm while trying to
win a point. Berdych took umbrage at what he thought was a deliberate shot at
him hence his refusal to shake hands. The Australian crowd lustily booed
Berdych after the match.
During the fifth game of the 1997 NBA
Eastern Conference Finals, the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan refused to shake
Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning hand before tip off. Mourning’s Heat
prevented a Bulls sweep with a Game Four victory in Miami and in the late
stages of that match, he landed a vicious elbow to Scottie Pippen that left a
huge knot on his forehead. Jordan was angered by what he thought was the Heat’s
excessive physical game and the elbow to his teammate. Prior to Game Five, he
called the match “personal” hence, the handshake snob.
But back to Suarez and Evra as well as
their respective clubs.
There is nothing sporting about the rivalry
between Liverpool and Manchester United. Whether it is Alex Ferguson’s
comments, Rafael Benitez’ tirade against Ferguson, the dislike and taunting
between the two clubs and what have you, it has been a white-hot rivalry since former
LFC player Matt Busby turned United into a power. It will always be like that –
intense, hot, and sometimes even controversial.
Now as for Evra celebrating post-win
against Liverpool… yes, it might have been a little too much. But I think
that’s fine. They did pull out a huge win after all because they went on top of
the English Premier League standings. As for celebrating right beside Suarez, I
am not sure if it was intentional or not and yet, as wrong as it is, I don’t
particularly care. All I wanted as soon as Phil Dowd blew the final whistle was
for Liverpool to beat United next time around and send them packing as they did
in the FA Cup.
All this overshadowed the game where
Liverpool’s hesitation to attack and take the game to United told on them in
the end. I thought that Kenny Dalglish also made a few tactical mistakes by not
starting Craig Bellamy and Charlie Adam who could have really helped with their
ball distribution and ability to score. The Reds played with a lack of fire and
only came alive after the minutes were dwindling away and Suarez pulled back
one.
I didn’t think much of the snubbed
handshake and post-game celebration. That is until everyone started talking
about it. Now unless someone does an Eric Cantona and kicks a fan in the head
all over again, let’s not make mountains (and now it is) out of molehills and
just keep the talk about what Liverpool needs to do become a serious contender
again and whether United has what it takes to stave off Man City.
Peace.
u really love liverpool!! Peace!
ReplyDeleteit matters when the kids start imitating.
ReplyDeletealso, what happened to "FAIR PLAY"?