The Liverpool striker has served his 10-match
biting ban and could be in line to return to the
Reds line-up against Manchester United in the
Capital One Cup on Wednesday
Luis Suarez has fallen victim to "jealous" rivals
while playing for Liverpool and Uruguay ,
according to the president of his country's
Football Association, Sebastian Bauza.
Suarez has gained something of a reputation
since moving to Anfield in 2010, having been
banned for eight matches for racially abusing
Manchester United defender Patrice Evra later
that year, and then for 10 matches for biting
Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic back in April.
But Bauza, who is in regular contact with
Suarez, believe the striker's opponents have
colluded to put pressure on referees and
create an inaccurate perception.
"In the case of Suarez, those who have to play
against Liverpool or the Uruguayan national
team, in the first place they try to protect
themselves off the pitch, saying, for example,
that he’s a diver, as a way of pressuring
referees before matches," he told Goal.
"Besides, there’s a lot of jealousy, and they say
the same about Neymar. But on the pitch, it
can’t be ignored that the great stars of world
football get kicked a lot, trying to prevent
them from having an impact.
"I’m fully aware of the atmosphere with
referees, as in the end they’re also football
people and I can assure you that Suarez is an
idol on and off the pitch and even the referees
themselves admire him, as they’re conscious of
all the blows he receives in every game.
"In English football, Liverpool’s rivals are
jealous because they don’t have a player of
Suarez’s class, as he’s one of the best strikers
in the world."
Suarez, whose 10-match club ban did not
prevent him from playing for his national
team, was once more at the centre of
controversy earlier in September when he was
accused of diving twice in a World Cup
qualifier against Peru.
But Bauza blasted: "In Peru they said Suarez is
a diver, but they also tried to make a war of
the match beforehand, so the media published
a photo of the Peruvian player [Juan Manuel]
Vargas holding a revolver and pointing it at a
celeste [Uruguay’s light blue] shirt, with a title
'kill or die'. Football is a game and not a war.
However in Lima they didn’t understand it that
way."
The Liverpool striker was keen to leave Anfield
for a Champions League club this summer, but
has remained on Merseyside after his suitors
failed to meet the Reds' asking price.
Arsenal's bid of £40 million plus £1, which
they wrongly believed would trigger a release
clause in the Uruguayan's contract, was swiftly
rejected, and Bauza maintains that Suarez
would not have been sold to another Premier
League side under any circumstances.
"I’m convinced that the day Suarez changes
club, he can’t do it to another club in England,
in which case he will have to go and play in
another country," he continued.
"As for the decision to continue at Liverpool,
he feels protected, so it’s good that he stays.
It’s a good response from Suarez to those who
love him and protect him, in a hostile
environment born of jealousy."
Though Suarez, who scored 30 goals last
season and was voted third-best player in the
Premier League, has flourished despite these
perceived injustices, the same cannot be said
for his fellow Uruguayan Sebastian Coates. The
defender, 22, has failed to secure a regular
place in the Liverpool team since joining in
2011 and is currently out for the rest of the
season with a knee injury.
"He found it hard to adapt," Bauza continued.
"He should have played for a lesser European
club, to get regular games and then go to
Liverpool. Like Suarez did when he first played
for Ajax in Netherlands and then moved to
English football."
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