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All eyes were on Old Trafford yesterday afternoon for two reasons. One being that England’s biggest clubs were locking horns for the third and final time this season. The other being the way the two clubs would handle the first meeting between Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez. Over the course of the match, neither side truly handled themselves the way they should have and the racism saga that has been swirling overhead the Premier League for months has continued.

Suarez was in his first start for Liverpool since his eight-match ban after being found guilty of racist abuse towards United’s Evra. The Football Association did not take any action to scrap the pre-match handshakes before the game, and it was a move that turned out to cause even more controversy. As Suarez approached Evra the Uruguayan striker simply walked past him. Evra reached out to grab a hold of his hand but Suarez simply shrugged it off, kicking off an already fiery match.

The match played out in United’s favor with Wayne Rooney bagging two goals that took the sails out of a resilient Liverpool, though Suarez would grab a late consolation goal. At the final whistle, however, Patrice Evra proceeded to milk every last bit of the celebrations, even celebrating in front of Luis Suarez as he walked down the tunnel. Evra was told by stewards and police to wait until told to walk down the tunnel in an attempt to avoid a second tunnel bust-up (the first being at half-time). After the match the saga continued, with Sir Alex Ferguson blasting Suarez for his actions saying, “He is a disgrace to Liverpool football club and players like him should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again. The history that club has got, and he does that. And in a situation like today it could have caused a riot. I thought it was really disappointing.”

Dalglish moved to defend Suarez once more, before the pair today apologized for their actions. Suarez and Dalglish released statements on Liverpool’s official website, liverpoolfc.tv.

“I have spoken with the manager (Dalglish) since the game at Old Trafford and I realise I got things wrong,” Suarez told liverpoolfc.tv “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 would like to put this whole issue behind me and concentrate on playing football.”

With Liverpool facing a cup run over the next two weeks in which they will take on Brighton in the fifth round of the FA Cup and then make their long-awaited return to Wembley on February 26th, Luis Suarez will need to have a full focus on football. The Reds challenge for fourth place is slowly slipping from their grasp, but a return of two domestic cups would surely spur them on to great things next season.

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