In the days following the Luis Suarez racism controversy, Liverpool players would go on to cause another stir by regrettably sporting tee-shirts in support of the banned Uruguayan. While warming up for a Premier League clash against Wigan at the DW Stadium, Martin Skrtel and a number of other players were pictured sporting white tops with Suarez's name, number and likeness on them. The stunt was blasted by Kick It Out chairman Lord Ouseley who described players wearing T-shirts in support of Suarez as "dreadful" before adding that the club "need to take a hard look at themselves". Ouseley also described Suarez's apology for racially abusing Evra as "lamentable" and accused the Reds of "hypocrisy". He raged: "Liverpool FC need to take a hard look at themselves and how they have responded to the complaint and the investigations into the allegations of abuse in the Patrice Evra/Luis Suarez case.
"Suarez's attempt at a belated apology is nothing short of lamentable. I cannot believe that a club of Liverpool's stature, and with how it has previously led on matters of social injustice and inequality, can allow its integrity and credibility to be debased by such crass and ill-considered responses. Liverpool have been particularly hypocritical. You can't on the one hand wear a Kick It Out T-shirt in a week of campaigning against racism when this is also happening on the pitch: it's the height of hypocrisy. Liverpool players wore a T-shirt saying: 'We support Luis Suarez', seemingly whatever the outcome. This was a dreadful knee-jerk reaction because it stirs things up."
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
