MANCINI: APOLOGY WAS IMPORTANT

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said that the apology issued by Luis Suarez is highly important in the context of his punishment.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra in a match between the two clubs earlier in the season. Even though Luis Suarez said on a number of occasions that he was not guilty, video evidences relating to the incident proved otherwise. He was subsequently charged by the English football association and was given a ban of eight matches. He was also given a one match ban for his obscene gesture to the Fulham fans in one of the club’s recent matches.

After the charge and the ban, however, Luis Suarez came out with an apology, although it was not aimed at the player he racially abused – Patrice Evra. Still, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has said that the apology is very important for Liverpool’s season as a whole and for the future of Suarez in England. Luis Suarez has not been a stranger to controversy at all. Immediately after arriving in England, he was accused of cheating in the World Cup quarter-final match against Ghana. The racial abuse of Patrice Evra, though, has become a much bigger incident and Luis Suarez will now be missing a number of crucial matches for Liverpool.

“It is impossible that we are always perfect. Everything can happen because you don’t think. Sometimes a situation like this can happen on the pitch. It is important to apologise for what he did,” continued Mancini. Roberto Mancini had a long battle with the racist issues while playing in Italy for Sampdoria and Lazio. However, he dealt with the situation quite brilliantly, although he has been highly critical of Liverpool’s decision to use Luis Suarez T-shirts ahead of the match with Wigan.