- Former Manchester United left-back recounts Luis Suarez racism row
- Patrice Evra talks Vinicus Junior and ongoing racism scandal
- The Frenchman feels racial abuse stays prevalent in football
Patrice Evra has admitted he resisted the urge to punch Luis Suarez after the Uruguayan racially abused the French left-back. The Frenchman lifted the lid on the incident during an interview with The Athletic’s Adam Crofton,
This is not a one-off case. Throughout the interview, Crofton recounted stories in Evra’s autobiography of the racial abuse he faced across his playing career.
Whilst playing in the lower leagues of Sicily at the start of his career, Evra says they were “doing the monkey noises or throwing me a banana” every time he received the ball.
A Cycle That Never Breaks
The pattern never shifts. Whilst the world changes around us every day, some factors remain prevalent.
When Evra accused Suarez in October 2011, supporters branded him a liar.
A little over two months later, Liverpool players—and manager Kenny Dalglish—warmed up before a match against Wigan Athletic on December 21, 2011, wearing T-shirts featuring Suarez’s image on the front and his name and number on the back.
Fourteen years on, the names change. The story is not.
After curling the opener in the Champions League knockout phase play-offs first-leg against Benfica, Vincius Junior was subjected to an alleged incident of racial abuse by Gianluca Prestianni.
Prestianni denies these claims, which are currently being investigated by UEFA, whilst Benfica manager Jose Mourinho suggested that Vinicus Jr had provoked the As Aguias fans by dancing after scoring his goal.
Different stage. Same poison.
Evra and Vinicius: A Shared Reality
“It’s sad,” Evra says. “Vinicius has to still go on and on and on about it. He’s the man targeted; that’s what he will feel. This is about the authorities, not just football. It needs to be condemned as a crime. I’m a really positive person, but we have a lot of work to do.”
Vinicius was the victim of alleged racist abuse after scoring in Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over Benfica at the Estadio da Luz. He exchanged words with Prestianni, who covered his mouth with his shirt.
The Brazilian winger informed the referee, and the game was stopped for 10 minutes as UEFA’s racism protocol was invoked. Play eventually resumed, but the racism row has continued into April.
Mourinho initially suggested Vinicius provoked the Benfica fans and players with his celebrations. There are similarities between the response of the Portuguese club and that of Liverpool from when Evra was subjected to racism.
Evra added:
“When those things happen, you feel injustice because, even if you are the one who says what happened, people (who are accused) will play the victim. That’s (what) happened with Luis Suarez and that’s now what happened with Vinicius. People complain more about his attitude. They say: ‘Why is he dancing, why is he provoking?”
He added:
“They give an excuse to a person to call him names just because he’s dancing when he’s scored a goal.”
Evra admitted he had to keep himself composed in the midst of his incident with Suarez:
“It was tough because the angel (in your head) says, ‘Patrice, don’t do anything because this is one of the biggest games in the world’, but then you have that demon saying, ‘Punch him in the face’. You start talking to yourself. If you punch him, you’re going to be the villain and you’re going to show a bad example.”
He added:
“So, you have to contain yourself. I was really proud I didn’t react. Then we made the report and the next day it was breaking news all over. I didn’t want this attention.”
Evra spent eight and a half seasons at United, eventually captaining the club. He made 379 appearances, winning five Premier League titles along with many other honours.
