Suarez “Upset” By Evra Racism Claim

[Defender]

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has spoken publicly for the first time to deny claims he racially abused Manchester United defender Patrice Evra at An field on Saturday.

During Saturday's 1-1 draw at Anfield, the players were involved in a lengthy dispute and Evra was booked by referee Andre Marriner. In a post-match interview, Evra told Canalplus: "There are cameras, you can see him. He says a certain word to me at least 10 times.

"I was very upset. In 2011 you can't say things like this.

He knows what he said, the ref knows it, it will come out. I won't repeat what he said, but it was a racist word, and he said it more than 10 times. He tried to wind me up. I won't make a huge deal out of it, but it's very upsetting and disappointing."Suarez responded by saying: "I'm upset by the accusations of racism. I can only say that I have always respected and respect everybody.

We are all the same. I go to the field with the maximum illusion of a little child who enjoys what he does, not to create conflicts."The FA have launched an investigation into the claims and Professional Footballers' Association chief executive Gordon Taylor said he would act as a mediator in the row.

"It's something we've done in the past and it's something I hope we'll be asked to do in the future," Taylor said. "We need to try to cool down and reflect on what happened and to contact the FA and see what form their inquiry will take."It's good to get this put behind us as quickly as possible instead of letting these things fester and become blown up again.''

He added: "It's very disappointing to have two of our players from different countries at odds over a very serious issue. Only by having a full inquiry on such matters can we get to the bottom of it and try to make sure that such problems don't arise again in the future.''

Reports suggest that Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was summoned after United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had accompanied Evra to the referees' room and consulted with fourth official Phil Dowd. Sources in France said the word Suarez is alleged to have used is "n*****".

Osun Defender