Luis Suarez has hit back at those fans that jeered him as his Uruguay team were dumped out of the Olympics in a 1-0 defeat by Great Britain.
The Uruguay captain was targeted by fans at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday evening, having previously been booed at Old Trafford and Wembley.
But the Liverpool forward was particularly aggrieved by the fact that sections of the crowd also decided to boo Uruguay's national anthem.
"I think they jeer me and they boo me here because they must be scared of facing a player like me," said Suarez.
"They fear me, but that doesn't affect me. I'm hurt because we lost and we are going home. We all had a dream and that was to win the gold medal here.
"I can take the abuse. I don't mind. But I think it was a total lack of respect from the crowd to boo when we were trying to sing our national anthem. I think those things should not happen."
The abuse aimed at Suarez stems from his infamous clash with Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in October last year that saw the 25-year-old banned for eight matches.
Suarez later exacerbated the situation by refusing to shake Evra's hand in a game between the two clubs in February.
But his Liverpool and Uruguay team-mate Sebastian Coates has defended his colleague and believes the criticism must stop.
"I'm tired of this situation with Luis," said Coates, who joined the Reds last August.
"I think it has gone too far and I don't like to see him being treated like this.
"I know the kind of person he is and I think the abuse he gets is very unfair.
"He knows all his team-mates and a whole country are fully behind him and I think fans over here should leave him alone."
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