Luis Suarez: Is it all really the media's fault? (Part 1)

It’s been a good ten days since Luis Suarez’s comments on Uruguayan national radio regarding his desire to move to Real Madrid, and as expected, there’s been plenty of brouhaha both on the internet and off it. Social media is the water cooler of the on-line world because it is where people come to stop, take a break and speak to each other, much like many other places that exist in both the real and virtual worlds.

But why people have been sent into a tizzy over his comments is because of whom he is pointing fingers at: the British media. Before I take this any further, here is exactly what he said:

“I’m happy at Liverpool, I’m happy because of the fans. I made a mistake, I’m human, but they’ve talked about me in ways they shouldn’t have. My family have suffered and things got out of hand. My daughter and my wife have suffered. I’m not prepared to continue to put up with the English press”.

- Luis Suarez, Liverpool and Uruguay

Clearly then, the reason Suarez wants to leave Liverpool (I will not drum up speculation over where he is going) is because of the media, who he claims have been tarnishing his reputation.

But while he obviously does not agree with the way the media have portrayed him, is it really their fault?

The reason Suarez has found himself in hot water time and time again with the British press is because of his antics on the pitch. The ones that come to mind most clearly are namely:

• His frequent diving on the pitch in an attempt to con the referee
• His alleged racially-motivated argument with Patrice Evra that saw him receive an eight-match ban
• His biting of Branislav Ivanovic which saw him slapped with a ten-match ban, which he is currently serving

In an era where footballers are supposed to be role models, would you see Thierry Henry ever insult Didier Drogba? Would you see Mesut Ozil crumple to the floor in a heap when little more than a faint breeze wafts past him? And as comically idiotic as this sounds, surely Gianluigi Buffon is not going to nibble on someone just to stop him from having a pop at goal.

The reason Suarez was sanctioned by the FA for his war of words with Evra is because there is a very strict anti-racism policy employed by England’s governing body. Every single footballer who engages in this sort of behaviour has to be made an example of. The colour of one’s skin provides no exception to the rule, irrespective of which end of that jibe you may be on.

Some might argue with me here, saying Suarez himself is Hispanic and a sympathetic view might be taken to him on account of his ethnic profiling.