Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has accused the Football Association of having a disruptive influence, due to its prolonged delay resolving Patrice Evra’s racism claims.
A fortnight on from Luis Suárez’s contentious bust-up with the Manchester United defender, the Liverpool striker, who was accused by Evra of sustained racial abuse, has still not been asked to provide his version of events.
Dalglish says if the accusations are unfounded, which Liverpool insist they are, Evra should face sanctions for tarnishing Suárez’s reputation.
Having already spoken to Evra, the FA is assessing what further course of action, if any, will be required as they continue with what they are calling a ‘thorough process’.
It was expected Suárez would meet FA officials this week, but no decision has yet been taken about whether he has any case to answer.
From the moment the accusations were made, the FA was acutely aware of not only of the sensitive nature of the issue, but also the fraught relations between Liverpool and Manchester United.
They have sought to proceed delicately, but on the back of the more recent controversy surrounding John Terry and Anton Ferdinand, pressure is now mounting for the authorities to find a swift resolution.
Liverpool will certainly be noting the speed with which the England captain is dealt with compared to their own player, who they are eager to be exonerated as soon as possible.
“The quicker these issues are dealt with, the better it is for everybody,” said Dalglish. “It does not matter if it takes two months, Luis has the full support of everybody. But the longer it goes on, the more disruptive it is. I don’t think it really helps anybody.
“If it is as clear-cut an accusation as everybody says it is, then let’s get it dealt with. And let’s make sure the person who is in the wrong gets punished. The FA has not spoken to anybody here. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
Despite a flurry of recent cases where high-profile players have been accused of racist abuse, Dalglish does not believe the English game has been tainted.
“Whoever the guilty party is; the person who said it or the accuser, should get their due punishment,” he said. So we’ll look forward to our case coming to a conclusion. For me, I don’t see racism, as far as this club is concerned anyway, apparent in any way, shape or form. It has to be proved before you accuse. I don’t think it’s prevalent in the game here and certainly not at this club. We’ve got a case going on ourselves which seems to be dragging its feet. We’d rather have it done and dusted.”
Dalglish is also seething that Suárez has been embroiled in a debate about diving, especially since Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was one of those who publicly accused him of going to ground too easily.
The Liverpool manager is concerned Suárez will receive unfavourable treatment if officials believe what he says are scurrilous observations.
Dalglish said: “Every player needs some form of protection and we don’t expect any player to be treated any differently from any other person. But then he should not be suffering either because somebody comes out and makes an outrageous statement that maybe influences referees.
“He just wants to be treated exactly the same as every one of our players. He does not want any favours but he doesn’t want to be pre-judged either. The wee man just gets up and gets on with it. He accepts he is going to get kicked and it does not worry him.”
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