FLASH POINT: The race row between Suarez, left, and Evra (PA)
LIVERPOOL FORWARD Luis Suarez was banned eight matches and fined £40,000 for repeatedly calling Manchester United’s Patrice Evra “negrito” in 2012, but the Uruguayan has claimed the allegations were “all false”.
The 27-year-old has risked re-opening old wounds after this week saying he only regretted two incidents in his career – both involving biting another opponent, including Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
Yet on the subject of his hugely controversial racism case with Evra, Suarez was unrepentant.
He told Sport890 AM: “Let me tell you, I've made only two mistakes in my career. My first was when I was playing for Ajax and I bit an opponent. My second was when I bit Ivanovic.
“The case with Evra was all false. I was accused without proof. But that's in the past. I was sad at that moment, but I'm happy today. I have grown up. I have thought more about things before doing them.”
He added: “Now people in England can't talk about me because I'm not doing anything wrong. They have to talk about me only as a footballer.
“I said I'm sorry [after the Ivanovic bite] and that was all, end of story. I've nothing else to regret. All the other things were like a movie that people in England believed in.”
Suarez’s time in the Premier League has never strayed far from controversy, but he is enjoying a fine season this year without incident and is the top scorer, helping Liverpool’s bid for the title.