Three years later, he scored a cracking injury time freekick against Greece which put England in to the next World Cup, much to the delight of the England faithful. The people who had tried to make his life a misery were now besotted with him, singing his name and proudly calling him their captain. Beckham is just one of many reds to be singled out by the Ingerlernd massive.

“Phil and I went straight out to have a look at the Wembley pitch and were greeted by a chorus of ‘Stand Up If You Hate Man U’,” said Gary Neville in 1998. “We’ve had this abuse before playing for England, but over the last year it’s got worse.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was one of five Portuguese players complaining to the referee in the 2006 World Cup just before Wayne Rooney was sent off. If Ronaldo was stood accused of stamping on Frank Lampard’s bollocks the country would have strung Rooney up if he didn’t join his England teammates in protest and instead opted to support his United pal. That didn’t matter to England fans though. The game finished 0-0 and three of the four England penalty takers missed, yet Ronaldo was the one to blame for their exit, according to the papers and the fans. His house was vandalised, his sister was harassed and it was his face now at the centre of the cut out dart board in the tabloids.

United players have received more England caps than players from any other club. David Beckham, Sir Bobby Charlton and Bryan Robson all feature in the top ten for England appearances and they all have played in three World Cups. Charlton is the all-time highest goalscorer and Wayne Rooney is in the top ten. Then you look at some of the players who have come through our youth system, like Gary Neville who has 85 caps, the most capped right back, Paul Scholes with 66, Phil Neville with 59, Nicky Butt with 39, Roger Byrne with 33, Wes Brown with 23, Tommy Taylor with 19 (scoring 16 goals) and Duncan Edwards with 18 (by the time he was 21), to name a few. Then we have the young ‘uns who are just starting their England careers, like Danny Welbeck with 4 and Tom Cleverley who has yet to make his debut, having been called up to the squad several times but then being ruled out through injury.

You would think with the contribution our club has made to the national team, you might get a bit of appreciation from England fans, but clearly that is too much to ask. It’s not just the fans that are ungrateful but the FA too.

“The FA may realise who has produced more players for their country than any club in the world,” Ferguson said at the start of this season after eight United players were called up to the England squad. “Maybe they will get some joy from it and realise how important we are to England instead of treating us like shit.”

Most recently, Rooney was banned for two games for breaking Law 12 which relates to “using offensive, insulting and/or abusive language”. Every single week in every single game players are guilty of breaking Law 12, telling the ref to “fuck off” or directing abusive language at their opponents, yet none of these are even shown a yellow card, let alone sent off, or banned for two games. Remember when Gerrard stuck two fingers up at Andre Marriner and told him to “fuck off” after he was booked for a scissor tackle from behind and received no punishment? Apparently it’s alright to tell the ref to “fuck off”, in full view of the cameras, clear for everyone to see what you said but it’s not OK to say “fuck off” to no one in full view of the cameras. Not if you’re a United player anyway.

Remember when Rio Ferdinand got banned for eight months and fined £50,000 for missing a drugs test in the same year Manchester City’s Christian Negouai was fined £2,000 and received no ban for missing a drugs test? It was later revealed that 240 drugs tests were “abandoned” between 2007 and 2010 yet none of these resulted in bans.

Remember when Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney were sent off in the pre-season Amsterdam Tournament and the FA banned them for three Premier League games as a result? Steven Gerrard and Neil Mellor were sent off for Liverpool in the same tournament three years earlier and received no punishment from the FA. Then in 2010 Patrick Vieira was shown a straight red card in a pre-season friendly for City and also received no punishment. “If a player gets a red card in a friendly he gets a ban for his next friendly, not for competitive matches,” said a spokesperson for the FA.

It’s one rule for United and a different rule for everyone else when it comes to the FA dishing out punishments.

“I think sometimes there is an unfair focus on United on disciplinary issues,” Ferguson said last summer. “It will always be there and I think we know that. They’ve always found a way to treat us differently. It has been happening for a while now and they always seem to find a way to do us when, with others, it’s seemingly forgotten.”

It’s not just the fans and the FA though, it is the players who you are supposed to support, yet when they come to Old Trafford with their clubs get loads of stick from our fans. I’ve never understood the ability of an England fan to hate a player on a weekly basis, only to cheer their goals and chant their names when they pull on that white jersey. John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Stuart Downing, Gareth Barry etc. How do you get enthusiastic about these players? As an England fan, do you really feel as though this lot represent you? You’re happy to see Terry put in a crunching challenge or Lampard score a deflected goal?

Between the fans, the FA and the players, it is easy to feel resentment towards England, or at the least, a lack of interest or disconnection. Whilst some United fans might like to shun England because they think that some “top red” status comes with it, it comes naturally to plenty of reds to be apathetic towards the national team. When you have a team like United to support, it’s easy to find your football saturation with them alone. Who needs to get all worked up about the prospects of England getting knocked out again in the quarter-finals when you watch United players never give in and lift trophies?

“‘He plays on the left, he plays on the right, that boy Ronaldo makes England look shite’,” Ian Brown said in 2009 when asked about his favourite United chant. “That’s what I love about United: we’re the Republic of Mancunia, no one gives a fuck about England. My next favourite would be ‘You can stick yer fucking England up yer arse”, which we sing to Chelsea and the London clubs. I love that.”

The Euros are upon us though and an International tournament is always a nice way to pass the time until you can get your fix from watching United at 2am when they play some dross team from the USA in the pre-season. United fans who do get a kick out of England will be relieved that at least Terry won’t be donning the captain’s armband as he beats his shirtless chest following a spirited England draw but in terms of excitement and hype, people have finally seemingly caught on to the fact that the national team just isn’t that good and doesn’t really stand much of a chance.

A manager that nobody really wanted, no permanent captain and no performances to suggest England have what it takes to match the better teams in Europe, yet we have a few United players in the squad. Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck are all going to Euro 2012.

Does this change things? After spending all season calling Terry all the names under the sun following the allegations of racism, will you cheer when he scores if it’s Young who delivers the corner? Will you be happy to see Lampard bury a penalty if it’s Welbeck that’s won it? Will you get emotional when you see captain Steven Gerrard singing the national anthem? Will it make you proud to see the DJ battering scouse twat donning the armband of your country’s team?

Terry has been charged after seemingly racially abusing Anton Ferdinand and has a court case to attend after the international tournament. Instead of leave him out of the team, Roy Hodgson has gone with Terry, and bizarrely claimed that his contribution to Chelsea’s place in the Champions League final helped sway his decision, despite the fact Terry’s idiocy at the Nou Camp very nearly cost Chelsea their place.

“I selected John Terry for footballing reasons and I left out Rio Ferdinand for footballing reasons,” said Hodgson. “I think Terry’s played well, I think he played an important part in Chelsea’s FA Cup final victory, an important part in their reaching the Champions League final and so therefore I selected him because I think he’s the man for job. I’m hoping and believing that he will help us win matches.”

In big games this season, Terry has made dreadful, costly mistakes, namely against Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona, as Chelsea finished a massive 25 points behind United. In contrast, Rio has been Mr Reliable and has put his injury worries behind him, playing 38 games in all competitions. How can Hodgson seriously expect us to believe “footballing reasons” have kept Rio out? Sol Campbell doesn’t buy it and thinks the issue between Terry and Anton is the reason behind Rio’s omission.

“I think it did play a small, or a big part in it,” he said, “because, you know, you’re away for four to six weeks together, Hodgson’s probably saying: ‘Maybe something might happen at the camp. Who knows? But you can’t say [for] football reasons, Rio Ferdinand shouldn’t be going. Because he’s experienced, he knows how to play football, an excellent defender, he’s done fantastic for his club and country, especially in the last, say three months. I can’t believe it. He’s played the last 10, 12 games for Manchester United, he’s played excellent, he’s fit as a fiddle. You need the most experienced players at the tournament. He knows his way around all these tournaments. You need people like that. You need characters like that. When it comes to those tough games, and you need that experience, you’re not going to have it.”

It’s not just Rio who England are taking the piss out of either. The manager thinks Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Scott Parker and Jordan Henderson are all more worthy of a place in his team than Michael Carrick. Our midfielder asked not to be considered if he was just going to be a “bit part” player. Clearly Hodgson doesn’t see Carrick as anything better than a bit part player then. Is this a manager you can have any time for? What an utterly unfathomable decision.

From a United perspective, of course I’ll be happier to see the likes of Rio and Carrick well rested for the start of our season, but I’m disappointed on their behalf, given they are more deserving of a place in the team than plenty of the players selected. It’s frustrating to see our players under appreciated.

However, win, lose or draw, England’s performances in the Euros matter little to me. I can’t pretend I won’t be happy if Terry slips and England’s opponents score. I can’t pretend I won’t laugh if Lampard misses a penalty. It would be nice to get behind the national team and I have no issues with people that do, it’s just not for me.

I’ll just be hoping the United lads manage to do themselves justice, come home injury free and are hungry as ever to lift the trophy that really matters next May.

I’ll leave you with a few words from Scholes on his decision to retire from the national team: “I like being at home as well there was an awful lot of time away from home and my family and for me there’s nowhere better than Manchester.” Hear, hear.

———
This is an edited article of one which written by Scott and appeared in this month’s Red News.

The linesman flagged for this in the second half but the referee waved play on. No advantage was gained from waving play on. You won’t have seen this on Match of the Day 2 though.

Can you imagine if David de Gea rushed out of the penalty area and handled the ball?

See Beautifully Red for more GIFs

After several people pointed out to him that the picture was old he acknowledged his mistake. However, the strange thing about this was not the outdated picture, but that Nakrani would claim to take such offence after writing lies in The Guardian to defend Luis Suarez after he was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra.

What the report shows is that in deciding to ban Suárez for eight matches and fine the player £40,000 for racially abusing Evra, the panel judged that in a row which that boiled down to one man’s word against another, it was Evra who was telling the truth.

This article was published several hours after the FA published their report but directly contradicted what was actually written in the report. Luis Suarez’s chosen representative, Peter McCormick OBE, acknowledged that this case wasn’t “one man’s word against another”, as Nakrani claimed.

“215. It was accepted by both Mr Greaney and Mr McCormick in closing submissions that this is not simply a case of one person’s word against another.”

When on Twitter it was pointed out that him that is was fairly hypocritical for him to slam a random Chelsea fan for being racist six years ago, having written lies in defence of Suarez who was deemed guilty of racially abusing Evra, Nakrani went on to tell more lies.

Yes, this journalist claimed that he was receiving abuse from “Man Utd fans” because he had criticised Chelsea fans jeering during the minute’s silence for Hillsborough.

Of course, for those of you that aren’t familiar with Twitter, a simple search for someone’s username shows all the things that have been said to them, and not a single United fan had criticised him for the reason he claimed. All the criticism came because he is a lying hypocrite, slamming a racist fan at Chelsea whilst lying to defend Suarez in his article.

When asked to name and shame the people who had abused him, he obviously failed to do so, as there hadn’t been any United fans “abusing” him for the reason he claimed. Fancy lying again when it’s so easy to be found out.

Always the victim, it’s never your fault.

What’s the most obnoxious chant in football? It’s a crowded field, you’ll agree, and there are plenty unfit to print even in a racy column such as this. But for what it matters, my money’s on the one Manchester United fans have going. It goes: ‘we’ll do what we want, we’ll do what we want – we’re Man United, we’ll do what we want.’ Shameless cheek. Bratty ner-ner. Hubris by the pound. An arrogant implication that the club are above sanction or reproach.

I was delighted when I read that because I thoroughly enjoy seeing how much our club gets under the skin of others. It was brilliant to see a journalist so full of bitterness that a song sung by a few thousand travelling reds got him worked up enough to allow it to dominate his match report.

He’s not alone though. This country is obsessed with Manchester United to the point where people actually feel the need to claim they are an “ABU”, or, “anything but United”. Fancy being from Darlington or Ealing or Kidderminster, having absolutely nothing to do with United, but supporting anything or anyone that attacks or beats us. What kind of existence is that? Still, ABUs exist everywhere and they have a strong voice in the national press.

“The most important thing about Wednesday night’s game is how well we played. But you have lost that in the mist of your venom,” Ferguson said addressing the press two years ago, following our exit from the Champions League after a 3-2 victory over Bayern Munich. “Someone told me the other day that when the press came back from the Rome final they were all delighted. They were on the press bus and pleased that we lost. It is disappointing when there is a British team in a European final and even one member of the British press wants us to lose. Someone on the bus told me he was absolutely disgusted at the behaviour of the British press at the European Cup final and he had no reason to lie to me.”

We are the main story, we are the country’s biggest and most successful club, we have provided England with some of its best ever and most capped players, yet from the journalist to the postman, the accountant to the plumber, United are despised by Englishmen.

There are plenty of reasons why our club is hated and this can be broken down in to several categories. There is the hatred we court and bring on ourselves, the hatred that is inspired by jealousy, the hatred due to out of town support and finally, the hatred based on myth.

The most enjoyable of these is arguably the negative feelings we can inspire in rival fans, like the chant that got the poor journo at the Evening Standard so upset. When we’ve had national hate figures at our club, like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, we loved supporting them. As the boos rang around opposition stadiums, we’d cheer their every touch, chant their name and in the case of Ronaldo, hit back, singing he “made England look shite”. I loved Becks blowing kisses to the rabid Stamford Bridge crowd as he went to take a corner and it was great watching Ronaldo hold his finger up to the baying mob at Villa Park showing them who was number one.

The most obvious reason to hate United though, as much as other people would argue it was our arrogance, is the jealousy they feel. Going back over the past twenty years or so, United have won more league titles and European Cups than all of the other English clubs put together. Of course you’re going to hate the team at the top, let alone the team at the top as often as United are. It doesn’t seem to matter what happens, whether we sell our best player or get bought by corrupt owners who take us in to a ridiculous amount of debt, we’re always there or there abouts and that’s annoying. The “not arrogant, just better” banner is wrong though. We are arrogant, but we are arrogant because we are better.

Then there are the fans of no mark teams who endure disappointment after disappointment who have their noses rubbed in it by people who shunned their local team to bask in Manchester’s glory. As if seeing United dominate English football wasn’t bad enough without having to put up with all the ribbing that comes from people who never watch United play in the ground but parade around in their brand new replica shirts. It’s certainly a lot easier to support Manchester United than it is Southend United, Burton Albion or Macclesfield Town, so you can understand why our out of town support would grate on people.

As a result of this hatred, we get England fans singing “stand up if you hate Man U” when there are several United players on the pitch at Wembley. We get the nonsense about us being too up ourselves to play in the FA Cup, when in actual fact we got fucked over by former Sports Minsters Tony Banks and Kate Hoey. We get accused of having the officials in our back pocket simply because we tend to score a lot of goals in injury time, or “Fergie time” as they so amusingly call it, and are awarded lots of penalties (although not as many as the other teams in the top four). It’s nonsense, myth, but rival fans are happy to perpetuate it in order to work themselves up even more.

Do we care about this though? Is being hated something we enjoy or are proud of? Millwall fans sing “no one likes us and we don’t care” and it just comes across as fairly desperate. So whilst I wouldn’t want us to relish in the hatred, there are some positives that we can draw from our unpopular status.

“It’ll bring everyone together,” Ferguson said last season after Rooney was banned for two games for breaking Law 12, which is broken in every game every week but goes unpunished. “That’s the great advantage we have now. It’s a plus for us. We’ll be united about it.” A few weeks later we were champions again.

Ferguson repeatedly uses this hatred to foster a powerful siege mentality within the club which has seen us go from strength to strength over the decades.

Gary Pallister has reflected on Ferguson’s effective use of the negative feeling towards the club, specifically referring to the media blackout he enforced in the lead up to that crucial game in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest in 1990 after the players and manager received a hammering for underperforming by the press.

“Fergie made us realise we were all in it together,” he said. “There is always a certain siege mentality that has to go on in a dressing room because it is always about yourselves as a team. But there are certain times when he ups that. The manager told us in the run up to that Forest match that you cannot let outside influences rule the roost. It is not about what the press think, it was about trusting in each other. He used to say it is not about what others think or write – it is about us all as players sticking together. He did make a thing about it being the world against us and you did believe it and hit back with a ‘we’ll show ‘em’ attitude. It was all about focus and rolling your sleeves up and it worked. It made an impression on all of us who experienced it.”

In his autobiography, the manager admitted as much himself, acknowledging the impact that fighting against everyone else has on the club.

“In most cases a cause is the best form of motivation: religion, your country, Manchester United against the world. We use it, I use it, from time to time.”

Essentially though, of course we love the hatred and not just because we’re childish and like winding people up. It’s not just because it’s a great motivational tool for our manager either. It’s because if you’re hated you are doing something right and all the bad feeling that comes from the outside towards our club revolves around the success we enjoy. We are the most hated because we are the best. Long may that continue!

———-
Originally published in the Red News fanzine

Regardless, when asked about Vieira’s comments, Ferguson quickly put the former Arsenal captain in his place. The manager reminded them of Roberto Mancini’s claim that Tevez would never play for City again, before he took a six month break from the club, only for him to be brought back in to the team now that City have lost out to United on first place.

“If Tevez had been playing for us, there’s no way the gaffer would have given him a game this season,” said Bryan Robson. “It doesn’t matter how good you are.”

Not content with being made to look foolish once, Vieira has today spoken to the BBC about his beliefs on referees and the title.

“When United play at home they get some advantage other teams don’t get,” he claimed. “I think when you go to United, Madrid, Barcelona, or Milan, when the referees referee these kind of games, it’s always difficult to go against these kind of teams. This is the way it is.”

After accusing United of being desperate, the Manchester City ambassador (who played a total of 32 of his 651 games in his career for City) Vieira is starting to sound fairly desperate himself now.

We should note that only West Brom have been awarded more penalties against them at home than Manchester United this season, with the most memorable the Demba Ba one in the 1-1 draw with Newcastle, where replays showed there was no contact. We should probably also point out the fact that Gareth Barry should have been sent off and City should have conceded a penalty after just 15 minutes against Stoke at the weekend. And let’s not forget the two players that should have been sent off in City’s victory over Spurs, as well as the penalty which should have been awarded against them.

Talking about the title, Vieira claimed that City, who are 2nd in the table, have been the best team this season.

“This is our moment,” he said. “Since the start of the season we’ve been the best team and played the best football. I believe the club deserves it.”

This is an interesting claim, given then United have won more games than City and City have lost more games than United.

Jealousy is a terrible thing, Patrick.

If you were curious, only West Brom have conceded more penalties at home this season, but don’t let facts get in the way of a good whinge, eh?

At 0-0 on 17 minutes at Stoke just two days ago, Gareth Barry should have been sent off and a penalty awarded to Stoke. No card or penalty were awarded.

But United get all the decisions and will probably win the league because tonight’s ref was obviously bent.

VIDEO – bent ref influences title on 2.37 and 12.20

Agent: Why Player X it is you. It will always be you. You are the one everyone desires….

It was only five minutes ago we were discussing Ravel ‘best player since Paul Scholes’ Morrison and his worth to Manchester United. Real Madrid wanted him. Barcelona was going to send over a private jet personally flown by Gerard Pique. Russian giants were lining up to give him an oil well to travel East. And East the boy went, South East…to London giants West Ham United.

It was only a matter of time before the Pogba stink bomb went off and everyone from Salford to Singapore can smell the stench. The latest fact based on internet rumour is that the lad wants £45,000 a week to sign up, which is the sort of money someone in a blue collar job would be happy with a year. However this young man would be pocketing it every seven days.

Value is an overused word in the football industry. Fergie uses it to justify his inactivity in the top end of the market and how he has to develop from within, and that he would rather do this than purchase some bloke called Wesley from northern Italy. Clubs like City and Chelsea use the word to justify elaborate spending. I once heard Fernando Torres described as ‘value’. I also heard Samir Nasri called ‘a marvellous value purchase’. So how much is a prodigious talent like Paul Pogba really worth? What is his ‘value’?

Well the simple answer lies in the pre-global recession housing market: You go and you view a house. You think said house is nice or you may think said house is ‘la maison’ of your dreams. You look at the value of it. Then you decide how much you are going to try and get knocked off its value. In Britain we all love what we perceive to be a bargain. Current house owner then tells you to ‘do one’ when you try and get 20% knocked off, and a game of loggerheads begins.

Football is like this, with the Kia Joorabchians of the industry are the proverbial property estate agents, whoring your services to the planet. Pogba wants £45k. Who says he’s not worth £45k?! He is the home owner of his talents. His agent acts ‘in his best interests’, United want the house, it just depends on how bad they want that house, or if they are really happy with the nice three bedroom semi they already have called Anderson. The ball really is in the club’s court. Then you must always remember that there could be a Rod, Jane or Freddie round the corner, always ready to gazump you out of the picture, who then stick their horrible net curtains up in the windows that should have been yours.

I think it’s almost impossible for fans to determine footballing value. In a world dominated by Football Manager players and the cult of online FIFA 12, it’s easy to ignore the detail and only consider the bare bones. And the bare bones are that Pogba is greedy. Well, congratulations! Most footballers are. Even the lads strutting around at Bolton get paid millionaires wages. Even Ravel Morrison got paid a small fortune to go and play for the team that won the 1966 World Cup or whoever they think they are. Pogba’s agent is going to ‘go in high’, leak every move to the press, and butter up a whole loaf of lies to feed the world about where his client is going. Juventus? Juventus!?? Yes, any player with ambition would join Juve over Manchester United. However, in a game that doesn’t do sarcasm that well, a dirty great big wage packet will get Mr Pogba to Serie A with ease. It’s the nature of the beast.

The fact is that if United do not value Pogba at his desired wage then we have to bin the lad. For years United have told us he is the real deal, that he is a future midfield colossus, that we are getting a solid gold teenager. I’m sure they’ve even told Pogba that themselves. The lad probably believes the hype. So when he wants an inflated wage we should hardly be surprised. In a world where Wayne Rooney can one day ask for a transfer because he is dissatisfied, and the next day decide he will happily sign a huge new contract, nothing surprises or shocks me anymore.

My take on this? I’d pay Pogba the wage. This is not a guessing game. We know the lad has quality. Fergie is the only one who can tell you why he hasn’t blooded him yet, but if he is to be a star of the future, there is no wondering why his agent is trying to negotiate at such a level. Pogba could very much be at Cleverley’s level in six months time in terms of position in the squad. It’s all very romantic to say ‘make him earn the money first!’ and ’get him in the side and give him an incentive’. Sorry. Football isn’t like that any more. Traditionalists will be shocked by the money being bandied around the young Frenchman but this is the modern game. The club are not being held to ransom. Ask yourself, if another club pays him what he wants are they being held to ransom? Value is in the eye of the beholder.

Ultimately, the worst case scenario is that young Pogba goes to Italy and grows into the player most think he will become. There on, he is sold for a huge fee by his club and ends up at a Barcelona or a Madrid or, God forbid, a Manchester City, where he becomes a cult hero and wins trophies like the way it likes to rain. And as United fans we will be able to say: “we helped create that lad”, just as we stick the ‘for sale’ sign up outside that three bedroom semi.

Who has the glass slipper for Princess Pogba’s foot? Let’s hope it’s us. God knows we could do with a midfield blushing bride.

———-
Like this article? Follow Rob B on Twitter. Rob B is the editor of The Faithful website and a writer for Red News.

Last weekend we had more fuss, with speculation then suggesting that Rio Ferdinand wouldn’t shake Terry’s hand in support of his brother.

Whilst people did get carried away with all of this handshake business, the most interesting of the lot was probably between Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez, given that these weren’t just rumours or allegations. Evra had heard exactly what Suarez had said to him and reported it immediately. The Liverpool striker had been found guilty of racially abusing our player and served an eight game ban as punishment. This wasn’t just a question of whether Evra would shake his hand as much as should he be expected to.

Before the game, PFA chief executive, Gordon Taylor, had said he hoped that there would be a handshake, so we could start to put all this behind us.

“I would hope that would take place, that would be a sign that having gone through the situation that those two players would shake hands and we can move on,” he said. “If you keep things festering it will only exacerbate how the problem was initially, and in that way we will be losing the battle.”

At this point, it was presumed if anyone refused the handshake, it would be Evra. He was the wronged party here and despite serving his ban, Suarez had never apologised for what he said.

“People are already speculating on the pre-match ceremony,” said Dalglish this week. “But from Luis’ point of view we have spoken to him and I know he will shake the hand of Patrice Evra and the other Manchester United players before the game.”

Dalglish got it wrong though. As we’ve all seen, Suarez opted to snub Evra’s offer to shake his hand and start to put all of this behind them. Why?

Speaking to a radio station in Uruguay earlier in the week, Suarez said: “I knew what I did and there is a kind of football law that says, ‘What happens on the pitch, stays on the pitch and that’s the end of the story.’”

Despite agreeing with the club that he would shake his hand, did Suarez refuse because he was angry with Evra for not keeping what was said to him a secret? It is absurd and you can only imagine what was going through his head when he decided to walk past our captain because common sense or rational thinking doesn’t provide any explanation.

“It’s never your fault, it’s never your fault, always the victim, it’s never your fault,” our fans sung on repeat during the game. Throughout this whole situation, Liverpool would have you believe it’s always been down to someone else. Despite not appealing the decision, the club claimed Suarez was innocent, their fans booed Evra and chanted that he was a “lying bastard”, no apology was forthcoming and even in the week leading up to the game, Dalglish claimed Suarez should never have been banned.

Following the final whistle, it is no surprise they continued to try to play the victims, despite being the ones in the wrong at every stage of this situation. Dalglish was interviewed and bizarrely claimed not to have known about the non-handshake and again tried to absolve Suarez of any blame for setting the tone for the game.

“I think you are very severe and are bang out of order to blame Luis Suarez for anything that happened here today,” he said.

Then Dalglish went on to blame the media, saying: “You know something else, when we had the FA Cup tie, because there wasn’t a 24-hour news channel in the build-up to the game, nothing like this happened.”

After the game, despite us all seeing footage of Suarez refusing to shake Evra’s hand, Liverpool fans started posting pictures of freeze frames which made it look as though Evra had been at fault. There is honestly no limit to how far they will go to paint themselves as though they’ve been hard done by.

One LFC blog, This Is Anfield, claimed to have “proof” that Evra had refused the handshake. “Patrice Evra successfully portrayed himself as the victim today but this video below clearly shows it was he who first refused Luis Suarez‘s handshake. The Man United captain moves his hand away as Suarez approaches during the pre-match handshakes. Suarez therefore avoids Evra, while Evra then reaches out – while looking directly into the Sky camera with a look of shock that an esteemed actor would have been proud of – thus making Suarez look like he refused the handshake.”

You couldn’t make this up. They are a parody of themselves sometimes. It was so obvious what had happened, whether you watched the footage in real time or slow motion, but they are painfully desperate to rid themselves of any blame.

Thankfully, at long last, sections of the media finally criticised Liverpool for their reaction and BBC’s Match of the Day ensured any possible doubt over who refused to shake whose hand was cleared up.

“Outraged by everything and ashamed of nothing, Kenny Dalglish’s response over Luis Suárez sums up the paranoia enveloping Liverpool” wrote Daniel Taylor in The Guardian. “Liverpool – clumsy, arrogant Liverpool – failed by the curled lip of their striker and by a floundering manager buried deep in denial, shoved a great spectacle into the shadows. In its place they revealed their darker side and how ugly it looked. Self-serving, out of touch, paranoid, delusional. Take your pick” wrote Ian Ladyman in The Daily Mail.

After burying their head in the sand for months, releasing ridiculous club statements and giving pathetic press conferences, someone finally stepped in at Liverpool and put a stop to the insanity. There have been suggestions that the club’s American owners reached their limit on how low they would allow their purchase to sink and insisted that apologies were made. Suarez, Dalglish and managing director Ian Ayre all released statements expressing their regret over what happened on Saturday.

“I have spoken with the manager since the game at Old Trafford and I realise I got things wrong,” said Suarez. “I’ve not only let him down, but also the club and what it stands for and I’m sorry. I made a mistake and I regret what happened. I should have shaken Patrice Evra’s hand before the game and I want to apologise for my actions.”

I have written to the editors at This Is Anfield to ask for their response to Suarez’s confession, confirming what had been obvious to everyone outside of Merseyside at the time, that Suarez had ignored Evra’s offer for a handshake. They have yet to reply but I will be sure to include their feelings on Suarez’s apology after they claimed to have “proof” that Evra was the one in the wrong if they do reply.

“We are extremely disappointed Luis Suarez did not shake hands with Patrice Evra before yesterday’s game,” said Ayre. “The player had told us beforehand that he would, but then chose not to do so. He was wrong to mislead us and wrong not to offer his hand to Patrice Evra. He has not only let himself down, but also Kenny Dalglish, his team-mates and the club. It has been made absolutely clear to Luis Suarez that his behaviour was not acceptable. Luis Suarez has now apologised for his actions which was the right thing to do.”

Dalglish also joined in with the apologies, standing by his earlier claim that he had no idea that Suarez hadn’t shaken hands with Evra, something even some Liverpool fans couldn’t believe.

“To be honest, I was shocked to hear that the player had not shaken hands having been told earlier in the week that he would do,” he said. “But as Ian said earlier, all of us have a responsibility to represent this club in a fit and proper manner and that applies equally to me as Liverpool manager. When I went on TV after yesterday’s game I hadn’t seen what had happened, but I did not conduct myself in a way befitting of a Liverpool manager during that interview and I’d like to apologise for that.”

So, what now? Water under the bridge? Draw a line under it? Forgive and forget? Whilst I have no intention of spending any more time talking about the handshake that never was after today, I don’t particularly enjoy reading any of these clichés about how the matter is now resolved. No apology has been made to Evra for the racial abuse, no apology has been made for implying the FA stitched Liverpool up, no apology has been made for claiming Suarez should never have been banned, no apology has been made for their fans booing Evra’s every touch and chanting at him that he’s a “lying bastard”. Suarez had no right to ignore Evra’s hand and he apologised for doing it. Does he deserve a pat on the back or praise? Well done Suarez, you refused to shake the hand of the man you racially abused and then you were told to apologise, so you did, congratulations!

The way Suarez, Dalglish and Liverpool Football Club have behaved over the past few months is absolutely disgraceful and so I don’t see why the condemnation should wane just because for the first time throughout this saga they haven’t done the wrong thing. They’ve dug the hole so deep that yesterday’s apologies just mean they’re no longer at the water table, but they’re still deep down there in the dirt, having blown the club’s reputation and integrity in defence of a man who has been there a year and who they owe nothing to. Whilst still wrong, staunchly defending club ambassador Steven Gerrard would at least make sense, but why have they allowed themselves to come across so badly for the sake of a player who may very well hand in a transfer request and get himself out of the club as soon as he can? They look as thick as they do morally wrong in all of this.

In contrast, I would like to express my pride in how our club and players have behaved throughout this. The FA asked both clubs to remain silent on the issue before the decision had been made, something which United adhered to and something which Liverpool ignored, with Dalglish repeatedly claiming in the press that if Suarez wasn’t found guilty, Evra should be punished.

Sir Alex Ferguson voiced his outrage at Suarez’s despicable behaviour in a way you couldn’t help but admire. He was furious that Suarez would show such a lack of respect and that was great to see. He isn’t paying lip service to wanting to kick racism out of the game, as Liverpool FC have been doing over the past few months, he was genuinely disgusted with Suarez.

But more than anyone, I am immensely proud of Patrice Evra, who has behaved with such dignity throughout all of this. Not everyone would be man enough to offer Suarez his hand ahead of kick-off on Saturday like Evra did and I admire him for showing that strength. He hasn’t been whinging to the press or playing the victim. He has just gone about his job and kept quiet. At the final whistle, you could see how much it meant to him, that he had repeatedly been disrespected by this man, yet here we were, the winners. It was such a release to him which was visible to all watching. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him celebrate with our fans, who had been cheering his every touch to drown out the boos from the away end. People like Jamie Redknapp, who could barely contain his frustration on Saturday from his pundit’s seat, whilst Gary Neville and Darren Fletcher chuckled, said Evra was out of order for his reaction. I don’t buy that at all. Had he been all over Suarez, like Martin Keown, Ashley Cole, Thierry Henry and Kolo Toure had been to Ruud van Nistelrooy following that penalty miss, that would be one thing, but what did he actually do? Jump up in down in front of the Stretford End whilst Luis Suarez and the other Liverpool players walked towards the tunnel? Big deal. Some people have insisted Evra wasn’t aware of Suarez’s presence and the video footage shows at no point does Evra clock him, but even if he did know exactly where Suarez was, who cares? Why shouldn’t he be allowed to celebrate in front of the Stretford End? Suarez clearly wasn’t bothered by it, so why are Redknapp and co.?

“Manchester United thanks Liverpool for the apologies issued following Saturday’s game,” read our club statement. “Everyone at Old Trafford wants to move on from this. The history of our two great clubs is one of success and rivalry, unparalleled in British football. That should be the focus in the future of all those who love the club.”

Dignified and respectful to the end. Liverpool FC could learn a thing or two from us.

[edit] This Is Anfield has written an article of their own in response to the apology from Suarez and the condemnation from Ayre and Dalglish: Our final word on the Suarez saga.

Some key quotes: Although Luis Suarez must accept some blame in the saga, he should not be the only one being vilified or questioned.”

“Evra does not offer his hand in the same manner as he does to other Liverpool FC players. That Suarez didn’t offer his hand either is not the point. Evra did not offer his hand either. Evra needs to share his proportion of the blame rather than lapping up the victim card with acting befitting of an Oscar winner.” [/edit]

———
The Daily Mail: Dalglish is reduced to a scowling, sneering bar-room bully
The Guardian: Liverpool’s Kenny Dalglish plays dumb to leave his dignity in tatters
The Telegraph: You have to hand it to Luis Suarez, he has a unique ability to unite the world in loathing
The Daily Mail: It’s just too late Kenny, you’ve left a stain on your club

Given I only get to the ground about ten minutes before kick-off, I missed the opportunity to buy the latest edition of Red Issue which went on sale today. Why? Because the GMP, without receiving a single complaint, deemed the picture on the back page “potentially offensive” so went about confiscating it and threatening the sellers with arrest.

Ch Supt Mark Roberts said anyone found selling the fanzine or displaying the image faces prosecution. He said: “Shortly before kick-off we were made aware that a Manchester United supporters’ fanzine being sold outside Old Trafford featured a potentially offensive image. Officers are now seizing the fanzines and in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service we will take appropriate action against anyone either found selling this particular fanzine or provocatively displaying the image in public.”

Fans were refused entry in to the game if they didn’t hand over their copy of the fanzine. It is interesting to note that within this edition they had been critical of the GMP, which surely was completely coincidental and obviously had nothing to do with this complete overreaction.

You can still buy the ‘banned’ copy online. The UK, Ireland/Europe, and the rest of the world.

One Liverpool fan was caught on camera doing a monkey impression when Evra was on the ball. “This matter is now under investigation by specialist hate crime detectives and we are working with Liverpool Football Club to identify the man in question.”

In response, following kick-off, Liverpool fans started spreading the disgusting rumour that United fans had been arrested for spitting on the Hillsborough memorial.

The Merseyside police have quickly spoken out against these rumours, claiming that whilst two people were arrested and seventeen people were ejected from the ground, it was all for “low level incidents.”

Is there no limit to the depths those vermin will sink today? Why on earth would you make up a rumour like that?