Patrice Evra’s attempts to prove he was racially abused by Liverpool forward Luis Suárez rest on the Manchester United defender overcoming cultural and linguistic barriers to uphold his claims against the Uruguayan.
Despite a month-long investigation by the Football Association into the allegations made by Evra following the 1-1 draw between Manchester United and Liverpool at Anfield on Oct 15, both players and their clubs continue to wait for an outcome to the investigation.
While it has been widely reported that Evra’s claim is based on his insistence that Suárez abused him with a particularly offensive and racially-loaded term, the nuances of interpretation are understood to be at the heart of the investigation.Both players have now been interviewed by the FA’s disciplinary unit, with witnesses also spoken to by investigators.
The FA had been expected to reach a position on the matter prior to the international fixtures over the weekend, with Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish calling for the issue to be resolved quickly more than two weeks ago.
And although United have adhered to the FA’s request for the situation not to be discussed publicly, Suárez risked censure last week by speaking while on international duty with Uruguay about Evra’s allegations. Suárez said last week: “There is no evidence I said anything racist to him [Evra]. I said nothing of the sort.
“There were two parts of the discussion, one in Spanish, one in English. I did not insult him. It was just a way of expressing myself. I called him something his team-mates at Manchester call him, and even they were surprised by his reaction.”
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