Diego_Sideburns Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The Chron reports receipt of a letter from Liverpool fan, Michael Evans, from Huyton, making a personal plea to the Latics fans who travelled to the game. He said: “On behalf of the vast majority of Liverpool supporters, I wish to apologise for the incident at Anfield. Your team were a credit to the magic of the cup and I am personally saddened that this happened as I believe many real football fans are. “I beg you not to let this imbecile sour your view of our team and our city.” Apology to Latics fans Also the Kop web site has produced a letter of apology on behalf of the Liverpool fanbase to be sent to Tom Adeyemi (together with the names of all those who have signed) when the police investigation has been completed. The letter will be slightly modified to reflect the verdict. NOTE: The letter will not be leaked to the media as they feel this would cheapen the gesture. If he chooses to let the media know then that is his choice and they would be delighted. The letter is in the form of a petition, signed already by over 500. It reads: Dear Mr Adeyemi I'm writing to you on behalf of the Liverpool fanbase. We wish to offer our sincerest apologies for any words or actions that may have offended you during the recent FA Cup clash at Anfield on January 6th 2012. Any deliberate actions of this nature are not condoned by the club and are considered unacceptable by the Liverpool fanbase in general. The FA Cup is always a special occasion and, as fans, we thoroughly enjoyed the game on Friday night. We realise that the final scoreline flattered us, and we were impressed by the endevour and spirit of Oldham Atheltic throughout the contest. You and your fans did yourselves proud from beginning to end. It is unfortunate that the same could not be said of all of us. While our team did do us proud, a small minority of our fellow fans did not and we are all deeply ashamed by this. It is not in the nature of Liverpool supporters to racially abuse any opposing player for any reason. We have a long and proud history of looking past the race of our players and of recognising all people for who they are and not what their skin colour, or heritage, is. This is evidenced by our support of a vastly multicultural squad with players from every corner of the world. It is in this spirit that we wish to apologise deeply and sincerely for anything and everything that the small portion of our clubs followers may have said or done to offend you. We wish you all the best for the remainder of the season, your career and for your family too. Sincerely Liverpool FC Supporters The Kop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlossopLatic Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 over 500 signatures which you have to say is an honourable gesture in the circumstances. Yet I do believe all this could have been avoided had they handled the Suarez case a little more delicately. The stance they took gave the impression they were going soft on racism and was always likely to be misinterpreted. The fan is going to get a life ban yet the player who is a £30+million asset on the balance sheet and who many kids will look upto as a hero and want 7 suarez on their replica shirts seems to have got away with an 8 game ban for saying something which would have got alot of us sacked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 over 500 signatures which you have to say is an honourable gesture in the circumstances. Yet I do believe all this could have been avoided had they handled the Suarez case a little more delicately. The stance they took gave the impression they were going soft on racism and was always likely to be misinterpreted. The fan is going to get a life ban yet the player who is a £30+million asset on the balance sheet and who many kids will look upto as a hero and want 7 suarez on their replica shirts seems to have got away with an 8 game ban for saying something which would have got alot of us sacked. In fairness your first sentence is about the Liverpool fanbase. The rest is about Liverpool FC. The fans are dealing with the latest incident involving one of their own, and hope the letter/petition will, in their own words, "help to clean a bit of the fresh dirt off of our great club's name". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlueFlag Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 In fairness your first sentence is about the Liverpool fanbase. The rest is about Liverpool FC. The fans are dealing with the latest incident involving one of their own, and hope the letter/petition will, in their own words, "help to clean a bit of the fresh dirt off of our great club's name". The easiest thing would be to accept the apology and move on the police are dealing with the incident and have the offender so there isn't much we can do other than point the finger at Liverpool FC which to be honest won't get us anywhere other than a media frenzy. Come to the games coming up current fans, new fans, people who haven't heard of us everyone come to the games and cheer on Oldham. (Unless you happen to support man utd then we don't want your support) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonesyOAFC Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 You can't defend a racist on one hand, then attempt to wash your hands of the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlossopLatic Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 In fairness your first sentence is about the Liverpool fanbase. The rest is about Liverpool FC. The fans are dealing with the latest incident involving one of their own, and hope the letter/petition will, in their own words, "help to clean a bit of the fresh dirt off of our great club's name". That is true my opinion of the Liverpool fan base hasn't changed over this it was one halfwit in 39000 I'm not daft enough to genralise in such a way but the clubs actions will influence the fans opinions and some a minority it has to be said, may have interpreted the actions of the suarez case in the wrong way which lead to fridays unfortunate incident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 The alleged offender is from Aintree, where they know how to cause a fence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlueFlag Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafc-latics Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 great gesture, i know they were considering something on their messageboard after someone posted a link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukers1 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) great gesture, i know they were considering something on their messageboard after someone posted a link. It is a nice gesture, its a real pity that there manager has managed so badly. Dalglish defends Reds on racismMon, 09 Jan 20:23:52 2012 Share retweet EmailPrintLiverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has moved to defend his club's record on race relations and said: "We don't want racism anywhere near football and certainly not anywhere near this football club." Reds striker Luis Suarez has begun serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra and the club have apologised to Oldham defender Tom Adeyemi after he was apparently the subject of racist abuse from a supporter at Anfield during an FA Cup tie last Friday. The club were criticised in some quarters for their staunch defence of Suarez, with Liverpool players wearing t-shirts in support of the Uruguayan as they warmed up to play Wigan before Christmas, just after the eight-match punishment had been handed down. But Dalglish stood by the decision to support Suarez and insisted he would never have returned to Liverpool if he thought the club was in any way discriminatory. He told the club's official website www.liverpoolfc.tv: "Over the past few weeks there has been a perception that the football club isn't doing what it should be doing, but I don't think the football club would ever go down that road. We will always support the official campaigns related to racism. "Obviously there was a big issue with Luis. The players showed support for Luis which was fantastic, but then some people interpreted that wrongly as the players saying they're not interested in the fight against racism. "That is totally and utterly rubbish. If we can help to eradicate racism or discrimination from any part of the society, with the help of anybody at Liverpool Football Club, then that help will be forthcoming. "We don't want racism anywhere near football and certainly not anywhere near this football club." Edited January 9, 2012 by Lukers1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaddy Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The alleged offender is from Aintree, where they know how to cause a fence. NEXT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie_J Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 That is true my opinion of the Liverpool fan base hasn't changed over this it was one halfwit in 39000 I'm not daft enough to genralise in such a way but the clubs actions will influence the fans opinions and some a minority it has to be said, may have interpreted the actions of the suarez case in the wrong way which lead to fridays unfortunate incident. Whilst I agree that the entire Liverpool fanbase shouldn't be judged by this event, I struggle with the notion that it was all about one fan. What about the many chanting "Suarez"? That was what disappointed me most. You expect the odd dickhead but not so much the reaction from the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlossopLatic Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Whilst I agree that the entire Liverpool fanbase shouldn't be judged by this event, I struggle with the notion that it was all about one fan. What about the many chanting "Suarez"? That was what disappointed me most. You expect the odd dickhead but not so much the reaction from the others. Football fans often rally around their own. While the offences are very different alot of people rallied around Lee Hughes and chanted his name while he got grief from opposition fans. This didn't mean the same fans who chanted his name condoned what he did its just that siege mentality sometimes takes hold sometimes overiding common sense which in the Suarez case seems to have been lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slystallone Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I'm well aware its just the 1 fan who has been arrested; 1 out of 45,000. But it was more than 1 fan booing Tom's every touch of the ball after the incident & t was more than just 1 one fan singing the Suarez songs too. Its that which has left a sour taste; as well as the actual abuse from the 1 fan. Liverpool have not cone out of this last month with much credit at all. The board, Kenny, players and fans have let themselves down massively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gaffer Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The alleged offender is from Aintree, where they know how to cause a fence. [/quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasidelatic Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 They've spelt 'endeavour' wrong. Typical Scousers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasidelatic Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 And Athletic. Which is a pretty fundamental mistake when you've only played a game against Oldham Athletic four days hence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Whilst Kenny Dalglish still stands by Saurez and still thinks he is has done nothing wrong in his eyes what do you expect from the Anfield faithful. If they think its right for their manager to back a racist then they will follow suit. And Saurez did say something racist, like *I dont talk to Blackies* and kept calling him *Blackie, Blackie, Blackie* what part of that statement isnt racist?????????? 500 supporters have signed that, not nearly enough in my opinion when LFC has tens of thousands of supporters acroos the world. Liverpool has its fair share of racists supporters beleive me, every team has its fair share of racist, whatever league they are in, but till Kenny Dalgish comes out and distances himself from what Saurez said then they have gone right down in my estimatations. Liverpool Football Club havent come out of this in a good light to me. Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpoolfan Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I'm a Liverpool fan and would also like to express my apologies for the unfortunate incident that occurred. It was a great match and it's sad that a couple of 'fans' had to behave like idiots to wreck the occasion. In terms of the Liverpool FC's handling of the Suarez case I would like to ask how many of you criticising our defence of him have actually read the actual FA report? Or are you basing your opinions on the matter based on the media's coverage of it (which was unfairly biased)? Suarez was presumed 'guilty until proven innocen't and ostracised by the media even before the trial had begun. And even after the trial had concluded the 130 page report which was supposed to confirm his guilt could not produce a single shred of actual evidence supporting Evra's claims. In the end the FA considered it sufficient that they can accuse a player of racism and hand him a landmark suspension based on one man's word over another (despite both the FA and Evra saying in their statement that they do not believe Suarez is a racist). Liverpool FC have stood by one of their players not because they condone racist behaviour but because they have faith in one of their own players and are not willing to let him walk alone despite everyone being excessively against him. This is the same with the fans who chanted the Suarez song. It's because we believe in one our players and feel he is not a racist and has been unfairly treated. Anyway that's enough from me. Hope you guys have a great year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie_J Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I'm a Liverpool fan and would also like to express my apologies for the unfortunate incident that occurred. It was a great match and it's sad that a couple of 'fans' had to behave like idiots to wreck the occasion. In terms of the Liverpool FC's handling of the Suarez case I would like to ask how many of you criticising our defence of him have actually read the actual FA report? Or are you basing your opinions on the matter based on the media's coverage of it (which was unfairly biased)? Suarez was presumed 'guilty until proven innocen't and ostracised by the media even before the trial had begun. And even after the trial had concluded the 130 page report which was supposed to confirm his guilt could not produce a single shred of actual evidence supporting Evra's claims. In the end the FA considered it sufficient that they can accuse a player of racism and hand him a landmark suspension based on one man's word over another (despite both the FA and Evra saying in their statement that they do not believe Suarez is a racist). Liverpool FC have stood by one of their players not because they condone racist behaviour but because they have faith in one of their own players and are not willing to let him walk alone despite everyone being excessively against him. This is the same with the fans who chanted the Suarez song. It's because we believe in one our players and feel he is not a racist and has been unfairly treated. Anyway that's enough from me. Hope you guys have a great year. I was hovering over the upboat button after the first paragraph, then moved away whilst reading the second. Suarez admits to telling Evra that he kicked him because he is black, that he doesn't speak to blacks and to nipping him (supposedly to defuse the situation). Pick whatever else you want out of the report and try all you like to make out that Liverpool are the victims but Suarez deserves every bit of his punishment and LFC's handling of the situation was shameful. The T-shirt nonsense was completely unnecessary, regardless of guilt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpoolfan Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) I was hovering over the upboat button after the first paragraph, then moved away whilst reading the second. Suarez admits to telling Evra that he kicked him because he is black, that he doesn't speak to blacks and to nipping him (supposedly to defuse the situation). Pick whatever else you want out of the report and try all you like to make out that Liverpool are the victims but Suarez deserves every bit of his punishment and LFC's handling of the situation was shameful. The T-shirt nonsense was completely unnecessary, regardless of guilt. Please have you read the report? I have and I can guarantee you that Suarez has not admitted to any of that. What you are recounting is Evra's version of events which unfortuanately the media has taken as gospel and plastered all across their papers. I doubt they have even mentioned Suarez's version yet. Suarez admits to using the phrase "Por que negro?" (which means "why, because you are black")in response to Evra calling him his "sister's c*nt" and referring to the fact that does Evra think he can get away with it just because he was black. He has also vehemently said that he was not at all intending to be racist when he used that phrase (which in South America is quite common and also unoffensive and even friendly to refer to a black person as negro). That's the version of events that we believe. As I said despite the lengthy trial and 130 page report the FA were unable to provide any actual evidence proving that Evra's claims were true. They just simply chose to believe him over Suarez in order to try and prove a point that they are strong against racism and get some brownie points over FIFA. But of course the media love the controversy and lapped up all of this to condemn Suarez and brand him a racist (despite as I again mentioned in the report both the FA and even Evra said they do not think Suarez is a racist). Has that been reported by any media outlets? Edited January 10, 2012 by liverpoolfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heath Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Saurez has admitted to using that kind of talk to Evra!! How can that be onesided!! Perhaps some liverpool supporters need to take of them rose tinted spectacle and see that not everything is right with your club at the moment. Stop trying to blame every bugger else for the predicament you have found yourself in and admit that something is not right with what he has said!! Saurez might think he has done no wrong and thats how they talk to black people in his country, in this country and most of europe we dont!! Its blatant racism, my word you scousers are the 1st to complain about people having a go at you, you need to open your eyes and look at the bigger picture. Oh and I am not sticking up for Evra or Man United, I dont like the club, the supporters or anything to do with them, what was said is racist, plain and simple and for Kenny Dalglish to stand there and support him for what he said is wrong, we think its wrong, the press think its wrong, the whole country thinks it wrong but you scousers think its right!! And as for this plank in the Kop shouting that it wasnt just him was it?? Janet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpoolfan Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) Saurez has admitted to using that kind of talk to Evra!! How can that be onesided!! Perhaps some liverpool supporters need to take of them rose tinted spectacle and see that not everything is right with your club at the moment. Stop trying to blame every bugger else for the predicament you have found yourself in and admit that something is not right with what he has said!! What has he admitted to saying again? I agree that saying 'negro' (which is the only thing Suarez has admitted to saying) is not acceptable in England even though it might be in South America even if he was not intending to be a racist. However does using one word due to a cultural misunderstanding make him a racist? Edited January 10, 2012 by liverpoolfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 What has he admitted to saying again? I agree that saying 'negro' (which is the only thing Suarez has admitted to saying) is not acceptable in England even though it might be in South America even if he was not intending to be a racist. However does using one word due to a cultural misunderstanding make him a racist? He used racist language. I'm quite happy to accept that he isn't a racist. But it doesn't change what he said. And let's be honest, an on-pitch battle with a Manchester United player is hardly likely to reflect bumping in to your little black mate on the streets of Montevideo is it? It wasn't a friendly statement. Liverpool are in the wrong on the Suarez matter. There's no need for the bunker mentality stance that they've taken. The only matter for debate is the length of the ban. I still can't decide if it's too harsh or too soft. So it's probably right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liverpoolfan Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) He used racist language. I'm quite happy to accept that he isn't a racist. But it doesn't change what he said. And let's be honest, an on-pitch battle with a Manchester United player is hardly likely to reflect bumping in to your little black mate on the streets of Montevideo is it? It wasn't a friendly statement. Liverpool are in the wrong on the Suarez matter. There's no need for the bunker mentality stance that they've taken. The only matter for debate is the length of the ban. I still can't decide if it's too harsh or too soft. So it's probably right. So calling someone a negro once without any racist intent (even if it was used in an argument and after being called your "sister's c*nt) is deserving of an unprecedented 8 match ban? Not sure that is the way to go in tackling racism. And I can almost guarantee you Terry will not get worse than a 2 match ban. Just wait and watch. In terms of the bunker mentality I think it's due to us feeling that one of our players has been harshly and unfairly treated and branded a racist when he is no such thing. We believe his account of the incident, we know he isn't a racist (even Evra and the FA admit that- despite their nonsensical sentencing) so why can't we offer him some support. After all our club anthem is You'll Never Walk Alone. Does that mean the club is racist? I agree certain things could have been handled better like not wearing the Suarez T-shirts but showing support for a player you firmly believe in not to be racist is nothing wrong in my opinion. Edited January 10, 2012 by liverpoolfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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