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Juventus’s Patrice Evra has said that he never called Luis Suarez a racist person and that he didn’t receive any apology from the Uruguayan. He also said that he doesn’t bear any ill-will towards Suarez.
The Frenchman was involved in an ugly on-field bust-up with Suarez, during a match between Manchester United and Liverpool, with the former Liverpool striker later admitting that he had called Evra a ‘negro’. Suarez was handed an 8-match ban and was also fined £40,000 for the incident.
The bitterness from the incident spilled over to the next meeting between the clubs, as Luis Suarez refused to shake Evra’s hand at Old Trafford. Now as they go head-to-head, Patrice Evra spoke about the whole situation.
“Luis Suarez will never be my best friend”
He said, "I don't want his apologies. It doesn't matter, it's no problem for me. He will never be my best friend, but this is not a problem. When we are going to play the game, I will shake his hand. The past is the past. I am really proud of my colour and I will shake his hand like I did with Manchester when we play against Liverpool. My game is against Barcelona, it is not against Luis Suarez."
The left-back also said that he wasn’t pleased that Suarez was punished and that he was happy with the way he handled himself throughout the whole trial. "I didn't say to the judge [at the FA hearing] that Luis Suarez is a racist person. I just say in that moment he have some racist comment. I didn't go there and say now 'you have to punish him, he is a racist person'. I don't know that because I don't know Luis Suarez very well to talk about it.”
"I controlled myself, I behaved myself, because in that moment I remember, it was like a voice inside my head, 'don't do nothing stupid, don't do nothing stupid, don't punch him or do something stupid because a lot of people are watching this game'. You have to show the example.”
"If I do something wrong, maybe today I won't be playing the final of the Champions League. I will get maybe a three-year ban or something like that. Sir Alex Ferguson after the game and all my teammates, they saw my face. I was in another galaxy in that moment. A lot of things were happening in my head. It was a really difficult day, but I was really proud of myself."
If he does win tonight with Juventus, it will be his second Champions League title to add to the one he won with Manchester United in 2008, while for Luis Suarez, it is his maiden appearance in the finals.
