To Sell or Not To Sell: Is any player bigger than club and country?

Suarez, Suarez, Suarez: Everybody involved in football is talking about it. Some are verbally spitting at Suarez and calling him insane, stupid, childish and even racist (Evra's incident 2011- 2012 season).

A few Liverpool fans have called me and Facebook me expressing their anger and disbelief. Some say that Liverpool can't afford to sell Suarez because of the club's dismal standings in the league. Some say no one is bigger than the club and he should be replaced.

Ted, Cardiff City fan, called me while I was overseas and lamented his anger over Suarez and called a him a thug and the ref a blind "so and so" for not showing him the red card for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic.

I too have my opinion on this issue whether a player is " bigger than club and country"!

It is not easy to make a decision to get rid of a player like Suarez. I wouldn't like to be in the manager or club chairman's position to make a decision of such nature. 

Even as a team mate....you will face a dilemma. Imagine players like Gerrard and Garragher who hold the reputation of the club in every aspect of their lives. 

What about a younger player like Sturridge.... does he look up to someone who is a goal scoring genius but has character flaws or does he smirk at Suarez and tells himself  "I rather not score if I am going to be anything like Suarez as person."

Before I express my views on this.... I recommend you read the below article by Lee Wellings (is the Sports Correspondent for Al Jazeera English based in London.)

24 April 2013 GMT: 1:22

Lee Wellings: Biting the hand that feeds you. Are fans cheering the indefensible?

 Published on Tuesday, 23 April 2013 12:12

The chances are that at least one of those eleven footballers you are cheering is what English people might call a wrong'un. A ne'er do well. A nasty piece of work. Increasingly you suspect it's far more than the odd bad apple, but half the team.

I raise this of course because of Luis Suarez, arguably the third best player in the world and with a charge sheet longer than the bite marks in Branislav Ivanovic's arm.

Rarely has a player troubled the moral compass of a clubs fan's than this curious little Uruguayan.

The Liverpool fans adore him, to use the theme of their favourite Suarez chant 'they just can't get enough'. This is perhaps unsurprising in an age where fans are desperate to see winning means something to the highly paid payers. THAT work rate, the unique ability to pickpocket defenders, those quick feet, is all that has kept Liverpool from the kind of mid-table mediocrity the rest of the team sadly amount to. Suarez has been Liverpool's entire attack since arriving from Ajax. But at what price the club's reputation?

To produce that vile, odd, heinous act would be barely forgivable on any day. To do it after such moving tributes to the Hillsborough victims, to the wonderful campaigning mum Anne Williams, and to the victims in Boston, brought closer to this city by the owners, is unforgivable.

In other walks of life it would of course be a straight sacking. In this case it ought to be. Unprovoked madness.

Suarez has been fined by the club (with the money going towards Hillsborough families), but that won't stop the English Football Association going much further, with referee Kevin Friend having not seen and acted on the bizarrer incident during the 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Chelsea, with Suarez equalising in the last minute of injury time.

Maybe Ajax got it right - yes he has 'previous' of course. The bite in 2010 on Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal (the same year as his cheating at the World Cup when he smirkingly robbed Ghana of a semi-final place with a handball).

Ajax decided to ban him for seven games. He never played for the club again and was sold to Liverpool for under £23m, an absolute bargain it has to be said, even more so alongside the £35m Liverpool paid for Andy Carroll.

If they'd sacked Suarez Ajax stood to lose out completely so one has a sympathy with their predicament. Perhaps the sensible course for Liverpool is, like Ajax, to get the sale, because in football the morals are loose, there will be no shortage of suitors willing to give that second, third chance.

But where does this leave the adoring Liverpool fans, shorn of their only real hope?

I put this to them. Would you rather miss out on European football or go into Europe with Suarez representing the club? The second one I'm sure. But now think again. Pulling on that shirt? Really? It's easy to want to take him warts and all. But somehow, some time, you've got to draw the line. Even in football.

He's brought great shame on a proud club that has known more than it's fair share of real pain. There's no place for it.

You may have noted I haven't yet raised the infamous racism case. While it was awful, there are elements that had to considered. However damning the case looked, it wasn't an open and closed case of racism. It was 'guilty after forensic analysis'.

The language barriers definitely exist. His upbringing playing street football in south America really is a different world to England and it happened to be Patrice Evra who he clashed with. Evra was an uncomfortable man to be cast as the victim. He is old enough to know how to behave himself and I'm not sure he ever will. When his own manager (Sir Alex) criticised his behaviour after a United/Liverpool match you know he is no angel.

But ultimately the language used by Suarez was inexcusable. It was racism, pure and simple.

So there we have it. Luis Suarez the biting, snarling, cheating, culturally and racially unaware street fighter. With his little twitter apology for biting ending in an exclamation mark, reaching out on the idiots medium to the haters and pun-lovers, and with the club's media aware representatives trying to avoid a repeat of their Evra case shambles.

The issue of who you are cheering from the terraces is almost taboo. While opposition fans target everything from alleged racists to alleged rapists, the underlying pressure is to get behind your entire team, unless they are poor players. Talk about a moral crisis.

I was once approached by a female colleague to ask why an alleged domestic abuser was selected for a World Cup squad.

Football coaches have to go by the law was my uncomfortable answer - if he picked a squad on morals the would be no squad. But - I pleaded with the colleague - my own view is the law should be tougher and the perpetrator (England's best player at the time) should be behind bars.

Is it just me who is queasy when those who commit serial crimes return to action as if nothing has happened? Yes they have a living to earn, yes they have served their time, but a childish, stupid dance from someone whose actions resulted in a death is just wrong. Show some respect, goal or no goal.

I'm not saying Luis Suarez is in the criminal category but those around him should warn him he doesn't have far to go. I'm serious. Biting is not handball.

And this really has got me thinking about who fans should look up to.

One of the least heralded of Liverpool's former players is the Australian Craig Johnston. He was the 11th man on the team sheet, playing in a team that was regarded the best in Europe. He felt the need to practise harder than anyone else, try harder on the pitch, and was almost apologetic about being there. His crucial goal in the 1986 FA Cup Final was his gift to the fans, but personal tragedy ended his career while in his 20s shortly afterwards.

I watched him interviewed recently, barely able to speak through the emotion of his journey to the studio of the club's channel in Liverpool. The people of the city, from cab drivers to doormen had thanked him for his efforts for the club and shown their love for him. A love that's reciprocated. That's his legacy, though the man known for developing the predator boot would be humble enough to wonder whether he's fit enough to lace Suarez' boots in terms of ability.

When Rafa Benitez returned to Anfield before the match he laid flowers and a single red rose for Anne Williams. No wonder his name is still chanted at Anfield.

But if Suarez returns to Liverpool in 20 years time it's not now certain he'll be welcomes as one of the club's greatest ever players.

(Lee Wellings is the Sports Correspondent for Al Jazeera English based in London. Al Jazeera broadcasts into 300 million homes across the globe, in 130 countries and millions more online at www.aljazeera.com. Contact him at lee.wellings@aljazeera.net. Follow Lee on twitter: LeeW_Sport).

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Now that you have read the above article and have revised or formed your own opinion.... below is mine.

When I saw what Suarez did... I was shocked then I started laughing. Here we go again. The whole world will be up in arms accusing Suarez of everything. It would be " Me against the world" again for the Uruguayan.

Whether a player bites a another player or sleeps with another player's wife, it is a question of morality. Even if there were no criminal charges against Suarez, it is immoral what he did. 

Even though adultery is not a criminal charge, it is still immoral.

Based on that, Ryan Giggs should have been banned from playing for Man Utd for sleeping with his sister in law. Patrice Evra should have never played for France after initiating a strike in the  2010 World Cup.

Wayne Rooney should have been sold by Man Utd for screwing a granny. John Terry should have never captained England after the self righteous English media found out that he slept with his friend's (Wayne Bridge) girlfriend.

Frank Rijkaard should have never been the manager of Barcelona based on the fact that he spat at Germany's Rudi Voller during the 1990 World Cup clash between Germany and Holland.

Maradona should have never been crowned as Player of the Year or as many claim the Player of the Century based on his immoral "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. He even went on to win the World Cup and became the Player of the Tournament.

So....stupid behaviors by players on or off the field is nothing new and has historically repeated itself.

But fans and the football world quickly forgets all this and only bitches about what is fresh in their minds.

I am not condoning what Suarez did and tarnishing Liverpool FC's name by his actions but he is not the first or going to be the last one to be stupid on or off the field.

To me he is not bigger than the club or his country but I don't want him to leave Liverpool when not many world class players rushing to join LFC.

Bastards in sports.

In a spade of  couples of days, I have come across violent actions where sports is involved..one by Bonek Surabaya (extremist football fanatics) last Friday and the Boston Marathon Bombing on Monday. 

Not too long ago, the Egyptian government dished out death penalties to rioting football fans there. 

Violence in football is nothing new. It has been around since the creation of modern football in England  in 1863. It was either on or off the field. It was either by the players on each other or by the fans attacking each other. There were injuries and deaths.

The off the field fights and murder by football "fans" was called football hooliganism. We even have a term for it to make it all professional.

I don't know about you guys. I don't see any fans here. I see cowardly bastards. 

Wouldn't you prefer this.....

Football Violence in Indonesia:

In a country that should be focusing on improving its football standards to be at par with the Koreans and the Japanese because they do have the potential for it... this happens 

Wouldn't we prefer this? 

Below is an extract from an Indonesian blogger who calls himself as Alterity....... expressing his view on the Bonek Surabaya..

Note: Bonek  is a name of a large number of people who are very fanatic in 'Persebaya' a soccer team in Surabaya, East Java. The supporters are also called 'The Green Force' as they always wear green attributes anytime they come to the match to see the performance of their heroes

Bonek Surabaya

Most evenings I work out at a gym located just a stone’s throw from the national sports complex, a huge stadium built by Sukarno and financed by the Russian communists. But on Friday I couldn’t go. It was too dangerous.

Football supporters from Surabaya and three other cities had descended on the capital for the final stages of a national football tournament. Now while most Indonesian football supporters don’t cause trouble, the same can definitely not be said for those from Surabaya.

Nothing is beyond these supporters. Armed with traditional weapons, such as celurit (a sort of machete) and golok (type of club), they terrorize anyone who comes in their way:

According to the Jakarta Post:

The Surabaya supporters did their (violent) reputation no harm on Friday night when a group of them became involved in a violent clash with a group of supporters of PSM, known as Mac's Men, at the sports complex. About 2,000 police officers and military soldiers quickly arrived in about 100 trucks and buses and managed to disperse the crowd. At least five Persebaya supporters, one police officer and one soldier were injured in the violence.There are unconfirmed reports that a Persebaya supporter was killed in the clash.With many of the fans arriving in Jakarta with nothing but their team spirit, some began harassing pedestrians, street vendors and motorists for money and food. 

Hell. Sometimes I wish former strongman Suharto was still in power: at least he knew how to deal with such idiots.

Boston marathon explosion:

This cowardly act by a bastard or bastards makes me sick. 

I have grown up knowing running as the last frontier of peace and fun.

Many a times I have walked into a football field for a match thinking which defender would try to break or twist my leg. Which opposing team fan will throw a piece of wood at or stick a fork into me while I am speeding down the left flank with  the ball.

But never, never, never would I think about running along the race route expecting anything but feeling ALIVE and having FUN. Win or loose.... I just wanted to have fun in a safe way.

I sometimes feel that GOD has been kind to me and blessed me to have Malaysia as the country of birth and residency.

After the Boston Marathon tragedy, I was just thinking...if it anything like this was to happen it would have to be in America. Really it should not be a surprise that it happened in America.

I feel bad saying this.  American Dream is becoming the American Nightmare!

(I avoided putting more graphic and gory photos then this. I don't think it is warranted. I think we get the picture. Excuse the pun.)

 To me the bombing was not an act of terrorism. If it was, it would make more sense to set off the bomb at the start of the race where close to 100000 people would have gathered together in close proximity.

It was probably a premeditated act by some sad lonely, looney bin with no one to call a friend. 

But I leave the investigation to the FBI.

The important thing is that we must live in hope and believe in the goodness of humanity. 

We must never walk away and let the EVIL of mankind triumph.

We Must Never Run Away!

Run and Bike Jakarta: Car Free Day

In my recent times in Jakarta, I got myself involved in whats known as Car Free Day in Jakarta.
What it means is that, from 6 am to 11am, Jalan Sudirman is closed to all private cars every Sunday. 

Thousands and thousands of Jakartans take to road instantly becoming kings and queens of the road.

The importance of Jalan Sudirman to Jakarta's road transport system is like Jalan Sultan Sulaiman to KL. Imagine that road being closed.

The mayor of Jakarta has taken a huge risk in going ahead with initiative considering Jakarta's legendary macet (traffic jam).

But to thousands of Jakartans, the Car Free Day is a social event cum walking and cycling with family and friends. 

Everytime I am at the Car Free Day.... I become alive. I enjoy the human interaction and the great Indonesian politeness. 

This is where I stop this blog. I have invited a 16 year old Jakartan to share his feelings and views of what Car Free Day means to his people.

Car Free Day (Raka Ibrahim Anshafarie)

Being a resident of Jakarta, one of the most surreal experiences you’ll ever have in this town is, hands down, the Car Free Day.

I mean, think about it. Every Sunday, the main street of Jakarta transformed itself. The Hotel Indonesia Roundabout, normally a bustling metropolitan centre street choked to near asphyxia with a parade of cars, motorcycles, and metro mini buses spewing fumes into every man, woman, and child’s lungs, suddenly turning into a park... of sorts. A place where youths can bring their skateboards and their bicycles and practice tricks. A place where people can hang out in the streets of Senayan and buy food from the street vendors without having to fear that anytime now, a bus will come round, hit them, and take them into the middle of next week. Jakarta’s main street – and therefore, arguably, Indonesia’s main street – turning into a place of the people, for the people. For a resident used to the hustle and bustle of the late-afternoon Jakarta traffic jam, it’s almost like stepping into a parallel universe.

But what does the Car Free Day mean, really, for the average Jakartan? I stepped out of my comfort zone and asked some random residents what they think about the Car Free Day. Zaka, a twenty year old music journalist, certainly thinks the benefits are mostly environmental in nature. “Car Free Day is one of the government’s best breakthroughs, and it’s a very efficient way of reducing pollution. Maybe we should have even more Car Free Days. One or two days a week?” Of course, the environmental benefits are one reason to exalt the Car Free Day. 

Geri, a twenty-three year old freelancer, takes a more skeptical view, though. “Car Free Day is just a way for street vendors to gain more money. And not just them. Sometimes we have events with celebrities and what have you.” Still, it’s not all bad. “But it doesn’t take away from the essential fact for us urban citizens. Which is that we need to wake up earlier, go out and do some sport, and step out of our monotonous routine. To enjoy a different kind of atmosphere in Jakarta.”

                                                      (GERI)

Take a good, long, hard look at that final sentence. ‘Enjoy a different kind of atmosphere in Jakarta.’ You get the feeling that the love for Car Free Day also comes from an altogether different perspective. A sense that you’re taking back the streets. A sense of, plain and simple, escapism. “Car Free Day is a way for people from the Suburbs and Jakartans alike to just go out and go crazy in the busy streets of Jakarta!” said Richard, a twenty one year old resident. Personally, I cannot emphasize this point more nor can I more eloquently put it. Car Free Day has grown to become something much more than just the simple act of trying to reduce pollution. By using the normally hectic streets of Jakarta as a place for sports, for recreation, for socialization, for fun and games, the residents of Jakarta has taken back the city that they’ve seemingly lost. They’ve reintroduced the concept of ‘public space’.

                                         (RICHARD)

Allow me to explain this concept. As globalization rears its head on the Indonesian capital, it seems that everyone on this fine city just has no time to slow down and enjoy life, even for a second. No time for sports. No time for recreation. No time for simple socialization. No time to have a little kickabout with your mates. And with new malls and skyscrapers being erected faster than you can snap your fingers and blink, you get the sense that not only do we have no more time to have fun, we also have no more place to have fun. That’s why Taman Menteng, for instance, sticks out like a sore thumb. A mere five minutes away from the skyscrapers of Sarinah, you find a beautifully built park where someone can play exercise freely, without being interrupted by passing commuters or smoke-spewing metro mini buses. Taman Menteng is, therefore, a sanctuary. A place of refuge from the office buildings and malls. A place where we can, quite simply, revert to being human.

This innate sense of returning to our roots, of enjoying and appreciating the ‘other side in life’ of Jakarta, I suppose, is what the Car Free Day shares with Taman Menteng. It’s a way to remember and celebrate the simpler side of life that we, in Jakarta, seems to have forgotten. It’s a way to reintroduce that special bond between people that we seem to have neglected because of the constraints of everyday life. It’s a way to slow down, relax, have fun, and just have a little bit of space to be yourself. Remember those good old days when you can just run around, talk to your friends, and buy surprisingly good food from street vendors without having to worry about the stock exchange or that big meeting at work? In my case the big exam.