John Aldridge has launched a furious rant against Barcelona striker Luis Suarez, claiming that his antics in the Champions League semi-final first leg were “unacceptable”.
The former Reds forward struck first to open the scoring in Barca’s 3-0 win, and wasted little time in infuriating Kopites by celebrating wildly.
And Aldridge was not too pleased with the way he conducted himself.
As quoted in the Daily Star, he said: “Suarez behaved like a rat in the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool and it was out of order.
“I don’t have any problem with him celebrating his goal against Liverpool. Just because he used to wear a red shirt, it doesn’t mean he has to pretend he is not excited to score a great goal in a massive Champions League game.
“What was not acceptable was his antics on and off the ball, as he got into the faces of Liverpool players, fell over any time anyone went near him and tried to get his opponents booked at every opportunity.
“He was sneaky, he was nasty and he was everything people used to tell us Suarez was when everyone at Liverpool was trying to defend him.”
OPINION
It is simply baffling that people are shocked that Luis Suarez acted in the manner that he did in the first leg. The Uruguayan is a horrendous opponent, the kind who will do almost anything to win a game of football, and no amount of prior loyalties or sentimentalities were ever going to change that. This is a player who has regularly bitten members of the opposition. Suarez isn’t some kind of diabolical, scheming streak of evil, but when he steps onto that field, all niceties and civility is thrown out of the window. Getting upset that he scored isn’t going to solve anything against a player like him. The best way to deal with him is to prevent him scoring in the first place. Yes, the way he went on was a little underhanded, but it really shouldn’t come as a surprise, and if it does, maybe the Reds need to realise that he is just one of football’s pantomime villains. It’s nothing personal.
