There has always been a huge – and sometimes bitter – rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool, but there was perhaps never an incident as big as what ensued between Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez during the 2011/12 Premier League season.
After Suarez was found guilty by the FA of having used racist language towards the Man United left-back, which resulted in a fine and a lengthy ban, tensions boiled over in the sides’ first return fixture at Old Trafford, which, according to former Liverpool midfielder Stuart Downing, also saw Dirk Kuyt ‘clocked’ in the face by Rio Ferdinand.
The Luis Suárez – Patrice Evra Controversy
Suarez was found guilty of using racial language towards Evra
In October 2011 at Anfield, a 1-1 draw between the Reds and Man United was overshadowed by a series of altercations between Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and Man United left-back Patrice Evra.
While the two were battling back-and-forth all game, there was one incident in which the pair were seen exchanging words with each other whilst awaiting a corner, with the Frenchman – one of the greatest left-backs the Premier League has ever seen – complaining to the match referee after the final whistle that his opponent had used racist language against him.
The case was referred to the FA, who found Suarez guilty – despite the striker maintaining his innocence – and was subsequently handed a £40,000 fine and an eight-game ban.
But that was not the end of the controversy, with tempers flaring over into the two Premier League juggernauts’ return fixture at Old Trafford four months later.
Tensions Boiled Over in the Return Fixture
Downing discussed how his teammate got ‘clocked’ by Ferdinand
In the first meeting between the two sides since Suarez had completed serving his suspension, tension was obviously rife from the start. Suarez opted to refuse to shake hands with Evra in the pre-match formalities, leading to the Frenchman attempting to grab the Uruguayan, and it set the tone for the match that was to come.
Whilst no goals were scored in the first half, it was another moment of madness from Suarez – one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history – that saw tempers boil over. Former Liverpool midfielder Stuart Downing detailed on the Under the Cosh podcast that his teammate had ‘blasted’ a ball at the Man United bench on the stroke of half-time, which ignited trouble in the tunnel.
Stuff was going back and forward, and then just before half-time, the ball lands to him [Suarez] and he just blasts the ball at the dugout. On the whistle, blasts it straight at the Man United bench. And he was sort of taking the full ground on.
Obviously, the Red Devils didn’t take too kindly to his actions, and trouble in the tunnel ensued between the two sides. Downing went on to describe what he witnessed having watched the scene unfold, with his teammate Dirk Kuyt appearing to get caught in the cross-fire of Rio Ferdinand’s anger, though it was something the defender denied.
We go in the tunnel and it kicks off. I dunno if it was sort of, like, I say planned… [Nemanja] Vidic wasn’t in the squad but he was in the tunnel. It was just kicking off. You see [Wayne] Rooney running down and I remember thinking ‘I’m definitely at the back here’. But Rooney was in the back going, ‘what’s going on?’ and I thought ‘keep him out of it because he might throw one’. I think he was trying to break it up but Rio [Ferdinand] and Vidic have made a scene of it and big Pepe [Reina] got involved. I’m sure Rio clocked Dirk Kuyt on the sly, on the cheek. It was one of them where he [Kuyt] wasn’t looking and he’s [Ferdinand] clocked him, and he was like ‘I’m gonna kill him’. Dirk lost his head, ‘I’m gonna kill him’.
Wayne Rooney would go on to score a brace inside the first four minutes of the second-half, but Liverpool would pull one back and it was none other than Suarez who netted for the Reds, though it wouldn’t be enough to come away from Old Trafford with any points. At the full-time whistle, Evra would go over to Suarez and celebrate in his face, almost as if he wanted to ensure that he had got the last word.
The Aftermath
Sir Alex Ferguson felt Liverpool should get rid of their striker
In the immediate aftermath of their 2-1 win, then-Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, in his post-match interview, didn’t hide his anger about the events that had transpired in front of him, and called Suarez a ‘disgrace’. He would also go on to make his feelings known about what he felt Liverpool should do with their striker, expressing his view that the Uruguayan should never play for the club again.
“Suarez is a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club. He should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again. He could have caused a riot.”
Suarez’s actions would also draw a slew of criticism from BBC Sport pundits, including former striker Steve Claridge, who was in agreement with Ferguson, citing that the Liverpool striker had ‘made himself out to be a villain’ with his failure to shake Evra’s hand prior to kick-off ‘not acceptable’.
Then-Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish took a different view, siding with his player, and calling it ‘bang out of order’ that people would blame Suarez for the string of incidents on that day in February 2012.
That season, United would go on to lose the league to Manchester City on goal difference, whilst Liverpool finished all the way down in eighth in the table. Evra would move on from Old Trafford at the end of the 2013/14 campaign after nine seasons with the club, in which he won five league titles, three League Cups, and a Champions League, while Suarez departed from Merseyside the same season as Evra – two years after the incident – ending his time in the Premier League once and for all at the age of 26.
Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez – Premier League Statistics Statistic Patrice Evra (2005-14) Luis Suarez (2010-14) Appearances 273 110 Goals 7 69 Assists 21 23 Titles Won 5 0
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and FBRef – accurate as of 12/11/2024.