Following the Merseyside Derby on Saturday some Liverpool fans and many fans from opposing clubs were calling Luis Suarez a diver after Jack Rodwell tackled him. At first look, the tackle looked bad but then replays show that it was not that bad a tackle and Suarez may have milked it. The FA on Tuesday announced that Jack Rodwell’s red card will be rescinded as Everton appealed that sending off, suggesting now that Suarez overreacted for that challenge. Two ex-Liverpool players spoke out after that game and both believe that Suarez should not have reacted the way he did after that challenge.
Graeme Souness said:
“I’ve played in Latin countries and I’ve worked in Latin countries and I think they, at times, can exaggerate that situation. I think he [Suarez] is a fabulous football player, but I think he’s also a very cute player. He’ll be a great asset for Liverpool, but I think yesterday he overplayed that”
Whilst Ray Houghton went on to comment:
“He did catch Suarez but does that mean that he should have screamed at the top of his voice before he hit the ground? Probably not but that is the way football has gone unfortunately. If you want to stop challenges like that then we may as well go and play a different game. I don’t think it was a red card. I don’t think it was a yellow card, it was just a very good challenge.”
Now being a Liverpool fan, I have to try stick up for our players as best as I can and I defended Suarez when the debate began that he dives and goes to the ground too easily. But now that the red card has been rescinded, we have very little leverage now in our defence for Suarez.
The likes of Ronaldo, Drogba and Torres, when they first came to the Premier League, they went to the ground too easily but over a couple of seasons they learnt that they have to stay on their feet as much as possible and hopefully the same will happen to Suarez. In my opinion he does not go down as easily as those three I have mentioned. What is your take on all of this?
This article was written by Ron, and is courtesy of our partner website ourkop.com. Read the latest news and blogs about Liverpool FC at Our Kop. – ed
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With the amount of Dirty tackles Everton were throwing at us it served them right Everton are a dirty team who always try to damage our players
Suarez wasn’t milking this. Just because it resulted in a red card, automatically there’s counter-accusation of simulation. You can’t judge a situation according to the ref’s subsequent decision – flaw in the logic chain? I’m sure the red card surprised Suarez as much as anyone else. Certainly wasn’t looking for it.
Now, that handball against Ghana was just downright unsporting play. And I know he comes with a reputation, but since he’s been at Liverpool I don’t think he’s done much ‘gamesmanship’ at all. And that’s a pleasant surprise because I thought he was a diver. Just being objective.
i think we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, this being his full first season. he’ll learn to stay on his feet. but, i don’t think he’s an outright cheat.
what gamesmanship he got kicked on the inner shin – it hurts believe me.
there has been more made of this decision than all 9 terriblr decisons against us this season, mancs press at work, have you noticed all the suarez to barcelona, 7.5 million a point etc etc . it will get worse in the build up to the liverpool man u game, it has as much chance of usettling our lads as us getting a decision of graham poll.
Agreed!!
Move on ladies,stablishe instant replay if you’re going to make such an issue. In defence of my fellow country man Suarez he was targeted throughout the game;even though was not flagrant fault the Everton player made contact period.
He was caught, it would have hurt, and he has typical Latin temperament to make a meal of it.
And I think he does fall over easily.
He will learn as the others have, remember Klinnsman!?
I also thought it was a bloody good tackle and the wrong refereeing appointment
Stupid. every team have their own. like rooney(dive) for Man utd, Drogba for chelsea, dont forget Fellaini for everton. pfft pathetic. just accept your team lost 2 nil not 1 no point arguing the obvious.
red2death I agree with you! However, I must ask you this. How would you feel if Carragher done the same thing for England and it resulted in England reaching the world cup finals?? It’s the rules that need changing to stop this type of thing. if you handball on the line and blatently stop what would have been a goal then the goal should stand and the player also sent off. I think that would stop it, don’t you??
That would be one solution. It’d open up even more subjectivity and chance for the ref to influence the game in not-so-clear cases though. Questions such as how do you define ‘on the line’? And what if there was another defender in the vicinity that would have stopped the goal anyway? Also, the ref has discretion over awarding all types of decisions, but awarding a goal for anything other than the full ball clearly crossing the line is completely new territory that I’m sure FIFA would wary of stepping into.
Also, if FIFA takes more than two decades to introduce video technology, I highly doubt they’d do anything else like this, needed as it may be!
The problem is you get punished for being to honest in this game. If you stay on your feet when your kneecap just nearly got studded off, nothing is given. If you go down when you think or know you have been fouled then the ref has to make a decision. But I do not think red cards should be handed out like that. we need more refs on the pitch and video to check replays. The rules in football have been outgrown by clever players. It should have been changed when Klinsman perfected the dive.
When they stop talking about him that’s when we will have to start worrying. They have tried to attack him in every way on/off the field and reason for that he’s class an they no it (just ask the four united defenders)
It will teach players not to dive or slide in on Suarez he has most probably been kicked and fouled since a child so it’s his natural defence.
Managers like Moyes should teach their players to stay on their feet instead of trying kick their way to victory every game !
Two footed tackles are an automatic send off,and in the past some ref’s have indicated that if a tackle causes a player to jump out of the way,then it should be dealt with the same way !
Graham Poll has said this in the past,but he changed his tune over this incident?
Of course, 2 footed tackles are an automatic sent off as Torress for Chelsea was sent off for Suarez they have changed the version they put Suarez diving first , second he had done it for a Red card, third Liverpool got the opportunity to win with a 2-0 scores so the two footed tackles was write off so wait and see
Suarez reacted the way he did to protect himself from any further harm. Football as played in the EPL is very physical and that includes crunching tackles. Wouldn’t it be too late if he ended with a broken leg?? He did it for self preservation, to alert the referee of dangerous tackles. (The red card wasn’t his decision.)If Suarez hadn’t tried to avoid Rodwell’s tackle like other not so street smart players, I’m quite sure it would have dire consequences even if it was a legitimate one. Legitimacy is no excuse for being negligent.
You’ve got two very tough SOBs saying he over exaggerated how painful the challenge was, neither said it wasn’t a painful challenge! Souness would probably continue playing with a broken ARM and he is saying how hurt suarez should be?!? Suarez did nothing wrong he got sent 3 foot in air and landed hard, just because it wasn’t a red doesn’t mean it didn’t still hurt if you don’t believe me next time your out in your garden or park jump three foot in the air and land on your side and tell me it doesn’t hurt and that’s without the impact that sent him in the air was focused on his ankle. Challenge was never a red but I’ve played enough football to know it would have hurt.
Too funny, what a lightning rod this subject is. Suarez has, in my eye, very good about not going down or diving, all of the time. He is absolutely at his most dangerous when he is skipping over the defenders who go to ground when trying to stop him. I’m not saying, in any way, that Suarez is a perfect angel on the pitch but he is not the worst offender by far. I would hate to even imagine what would have happened if he had not jumped out of the way of Rodwell. Any player at that level knows the risk they run when they lunge or go to ground. Unfortunately for Rodwell, the Blues, and any fan who was enjoying a good match the Ref blew it.
Not in the Box nor outside the Box Suarez a player among the world best players Dive in the midfield for a simple Free- Kick it’s so strange the Red card was rescinded due of the 90 result and the replays Liverpool team might be on Top we lost points against Sunderland ,Stoke with 9 players against Spurs becoz of Referee exaggeration now Liverpool win with Ref bad judgement even 2 footed tackles became simple YNWA