On Sunday 6th January, Liverpool faced Mansfield in the third round of the FA cup, in their second fixture of the year. New signing Daniel Sturridge scored for Liverpool, followed by a Suarez goal in the 59th minute (a cause of much controversy, as replays show he handled it into the net). Green scored for Mansfield in the 79th minute, but it turned out to be a mere consolation.
Liverpool played very well for most of the match, creating a lot of chances. Sturridge had a great debut, and could easily have scored more than 1. Suarez was, as usual, impressive, but his performance was overshadowed by the handball incident. Although I would love to find a way to do so, I cannot defend the referee’s decision. The ball was handled into the net, and therefore the goal should not have stood. This would of course have meant that the game would have ended 1-1, meaning a replay would have had to be scheduled. I feel sorry for Mansfield, who played well and deserved better.
However, although I cannot defend the referee, I can certainly defend Luis Suarez. In fact, in my view, he has done nothing wrong. It is unclear even from the replays as to whether or not his handball was deliberate. Either way, he cannot be expected to turn round and tell the referee to discount his goal. Although he will not be proud of scoring a goal like that, ‘they all count’ as the saying goes. In the end the goal proved crucial to our victory, and although I would have preferred him to score another way, I am still glad he got the ball in the net for us.
Of course, a lot of people will not be satisfied with this reasoning. Already, people have started picking on Suarez, singling him out as a cheat and a disgrace to the game. These people, in my opinion, are being frankly stupid. This is the first handball incident I can recall Suarez being involved in, and as for all the diving accusations, it’s not like he ever gets given any penalties! If his supposed ‘diving’ worked to his advantage, I could see why people would be angry, but the fact is that he has only been awarded one penalty in the premier league this season, despite numerous fouls on him. Suarez, in my view, is not a cheat, and certainly no more so than a lot of other players in English football, who in contrast are practically worshipped by the media.
In conclusion, I am not defending Suarez’s goal. It did strike his hand, and therefore should not have stood. However, Luis Suarez did nothing wrong. Whether it was deliberate or not, he cannot be expected to tell the referee to discount his goal. Even the Mansfield manager accepted this, saying that he did not feel cheated, and that were it any player other than Suarez there would not be this much fuss. I have utmost respect for this manager. He is an example to everyone associated with the game, as he accepted the decision, even though it was a wrong one, and moved on. If everyone behaved like him, football would stop being about politics, and then we could all go back to enjoying the beautiful game.
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