Thursday 22 December 2011

And Suarez is wrong

Today's news is that Suarez is set to appeal. Is he saying that he is guilty but the punishment is too harsh (I have heard some commentators take this view) or is he saying that he is innocent? Well his agent is "convinced" that the punishment would be reversed, so that should mean he is innocent. However the agent went on to say that "it seems to us absolutely out of proportion," which suggests that he is guilty but the punishment was too harsh.

The appeal will be brought by Liverpool's lawyers who won't let him walk alone and there are many who are convinced that Suarez is not a racist. This is not the issue. The point to be considered is whether Suarez acted in a racist manner and that means that the perception of his words is all important.

Did Evra make up hearing racial abuse? I don't think so. The obvious sentence is guilty with mitigating circumstances. The complexity arises in the size of the punishment not in the conviction that the sentence should be overturned.

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2 comments:

  1. Whatever punishment is meted out, or recinded....the hurt can not be taken away. Racial abuse hurts, as does any abuse, and apologising or the person commiting the abuse being reprimanded does not take away the hurt.
    If more thought was taken before people open their mouths, situations like this one can be avoided. And people in the public eye should be more careful what they say than ordinary people, as the "media" seem to take delight in stirring up trouble for people in them.

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  2. Thanks Sea. It could be that Suarez meant no harm, and this is the position taken by Liverpool F.C. In this case the problem would be that Evra is too sensitive.

    However perception is all important and Evra felt hurt by the remarks. Suarez should at the very least apologise for this.

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