For the second FA Cup round in a row, Liverpool's progress in the competition was merely a subplot to the increasingly sickening crowd behaviour. After Oldham Athletic player Tom Adeyemi was the victim of racial abuse in the third round tie at Anfield, a man nearing pension age was caught on camera performing a monkey arms gesture during Liverpool's defeat of Manchester United.
He should know better; sadly, after the reaction from Liverpool Football Club and Kenny Dalglish following the initial FA charge to Luis Suarez, it is hardly a surprise that some sections of the supporters have reacted the way they have.
It's not about tribal loyalty; or at least, it shouldn't be. I wrote in my column on Boxing Day about how I felt Dalglish had hardly covered himself in glory and that the fact that the player who accused Suarez happened to play for their fiercest rivals had influenced their response.
There can be little doubt that that is the case now; Saturday's social network success that saw the man performing that gesture arrested provoked a malicious response where a Liverpool supporter based in Brighton spread a lie that 3 United supporters had been arrested for spitting on the Hillsborough memorial. A Liverpool fan then pretended to be a United supporter and posted a comment on an internet blog “verifying” the story; there are simply no words to describe how utterly baffling this kind of behaviour is.
Yet the consistent refusal to accept any kind of responsibility or acknowledge any wrong-doing in which has become the worst public relations disaster in the history of any British football club only serves to create a culture of perceived injustice; and this irrational response to all that is recognised as unacceptable in modern society seems to have opened the floodgates for the most unimaginable reaction.
It is worth pointing out that the incidents are in isolation by individual supporters so the whole supporter base of Liverpool Football Club should not be tarred with the same brush; at the same time, the reaction of so many (including one of the bloggers on the clubs official website, Brian Durand) who were willing to believe a lie in order to retaliate in some bizarre point scoring exercise was of great concern. Moreover; the fact that these incidents continue to happen now has to be traced back to the attitude of Liverpool Football Club.
Luis Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra by the FA; he wasn’t found guilty of being racist, but he admitted using a term that is commonly accepted as insulting and offensive to most people in society. He has been made out to be a martyr; and Dalglish is as guilty as anyone for perpetuating that. He commented in December, “I think where they (the FA) have to be more supportive is the reaction from people - and the antagonism of the crowds – towards Luis. That is the great problem.”
Stark contrast to his comments after the game on Saturday, in response to the treatment of Evra from the Anfield crowd, where he said, “Why would I be disappointed for Evra? I've been booed.
The media have played their part in trying to maintain dignity and respect and concentrate on the football today and that's what the players did and that's what the fans did. The fans are entitled to support their team. I've got no problem with that and if there's a bit of banter between the teams, that's brilliant. I don't think there was anything untoward.”
In Dalglish’s defence he was unaware of the gesture made by the man at the time; but his contradictory opinion sums up the position the club have forced them into. The statements clearly conflict; yet such is the terrible mess that has been created, it seems there is no way out. What’s the way forward without a full and frank apology? More crowd trouble, more insistence that these are isolated incidents and not endemic of a growing problem?
Racism should be kicked out of football. No ifs. No buts. No mud slinging. No “they did this though”. It should just be kicked out.
Nothing is irreparable but Liverpool have a responsibility to react before it gets out of control. The FA, too, must be closely monitoring the situation and wondering at what point to step in.
It’s a shame for the players, who managed to continue their run in the Cup – a dramatic late winner in front of the Kop after a game where the visitors could argue they bossed the majority; it’s just a shame that Dirk Kuyt’s moment of magic in the Cup has indeed been relegated to a subplot.