Glen Johnson: Evra made it clear he didn't REALLY want to shake Suarez's hand R

Glen Johnson exclusive: Evra made it clear he didn't REALLY want to shake Suarez's hand
By IAN LADYMAN
Last updated at 10:45 PM on 7th March 2012
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Glen Johnson was five players down the line when Luis Suarez seemingly refused to shake hands with Patrice Evra at Old Trafford last month. He didn’t see it.
The Liverpool defender has watched it plenty  of times on television since, though, and he is  convinced of what happened.
‘Evra was clever at Old Trafford,’ said Johnson, extending his hand directly towards me. ‘Because - I’m not being funny - but if I wanted to shake your hand I would stick it right out in front of me like that. But if my hand is down here, almost by my side, then it’s because I really don’t want to shake your hand.

On the ball: Glen Johnson is convinced Luis Suarez would never use racist words and backs him over the Patrice Evra handshake affair
‘Luis didn’t shake his hand because Evra’s hand was down there. What else is Luis supposed to do? Would you go to shake someone’s hand if their hand is way down there by their side? Course not. But then, because Luis didn’t do it, Evra has pulled him back by his arm as he walked on, as if to say to everybody: “Look, I wanted to shake his hand and he didn’t…”
‘He’s following Luis with his eyes as if to say: “Right he’s gone, he’s gone (past me) so I’ll pull him back now…” Evra probably stayed up all night thinking about how to do that. The whole thing was ridiculous.’
This week Johnson became the first member of Kenny Dalglish’s squad to talk in detail about the Suarez-Evra episode, a saga that shook football and - in many people’s eyes - left a dent in  Liverpool’s reputation.
It would appear that those who think the  resentment surrounding this awful dispute has vanished are quite wrong.

Controversy: Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra caused a storm with their non-handshake

 
 

Glen Johnson is the guy who got dragged into a race storm that had nothing to do with him.
Liverpool’s only black first-team player, the  England defender has been criticised by other black sportsmen for standing by Luis Suarez after the Uruguay forward was found by the FA to have made racist comments to Manchester United’s Patrice Evra during a game last October.
Former United defender Paul McGrath took to Twitter on seeing Johnson join his team-mates in wearing T-shirts in support of Suarez as they warmed up before a game at Wigan.
‘If I was in Glen Johnson’s position, I would have thrown the shirt to the floor,’ said McGrath.
Weeks later, Worcester and England sevens rugby player Marcel Garvey used the same social network to call Johnson an ‘Uncle Tom’. The term is used to describe blacks who are willingly subservient to whites. When we  met this week, Johnson remained baffled. Admirably phlegmatic, but baffled all the same.
‘It’s only an issue because I am the only black lad in the club,’ he shrugged. ‘If it’s bad that the other lads supported Luis then that should be seen as just as bad as me  supporting him. But people are on to me because I am black.
‘The McGrath thing … that’s actually racist. Saying what he said is racist. He is only saying that to me because I was the only black lad wearing the T-shirt. He’s targeting me because of my colour.
‘Listen, I’m my own man. If I have something I want to say or do then  I will do it. The reason I wore the  T-shirt is because I know 100 per cent Luis Suarez is not racist. He is one of the lads in the team that I get on with best of all at the club.
‘I am still on Twitter but I don’t use it much now. I was getting pathetic stuff on there. But that is what  people go on it for, to give people stick. I haven’t spoken to Paul McGrath about it. I don’t care what he thinks, really. I don’t know anything about him. But for someone to say that, it sums them up. It’s their problem.

Getting shirty: Johnson showed his support for Suarez, like the rest of his team, by wearing controversial t-shirts before a Premier League game at Wigan
‘As for the rugby guy… well, that was really intelligent wasn’t it? I don’t know who this geezer is either. He should stick to playing rugby.
‘If I was to react to everyone’s comments I would be arguing every single day, you know? Like I say, for someone like that to write such a stupid message … well, make your own judgment.’
Johnson sat down with me this week in  Warrington as part of an obligation to promote a new England sticker collection for children. Scheduled to do a host of media engagements, he was willing and courteous as he talked and signed card after card that would subsequently be distributed to youngsters.
Traditionally not an easy interviewee, the 27–year-old nevertheless spoke openly, intelligently and at length about the Suarez issue. It is clear he has no doubt about his team-mate’s innocence.
Along with many others, I have been fiercely critical of Liverpool’s handling of the affair. Nevertheless,  Johnson’s reasoning was compelling to listen to, even if it was not enough to persuade me Dalglish and his club dealt with the issue as well as they should have done.
‘The evidence was Luis’s word against Evra’s,’ argued Johnson. ‘I’m not saying Evra is lying but it’s his word against Luis’s, isn’t it? So how did it all turn out to be so strong in Evra’s favour? I work with the lad every day. There is no way he said that.
‘With the media these days and the way it was going to be blown up, maybe the T-shirts thing wasn’t the right thing to do. How should I say this? We wore them to show our support for Luis. It wasn’t to send a message to everyone else. It was just for him.

Critical: Paul McGrath had his say on the matter after the Wigan match
‘It seemed to come across that we were making a point. We weren’t. It was the club’s idea. But obviously we all agreed. We didn’t really think about how  people would react.’
The core argument of Suarez’s defence was that the word ‘negrito’ — which he was found to use to Evra at Anfield last October  —  is not an abusive term in South America.  Suarez has played in Europe since 2007. Many impartial judges believe he should have known better.
Johnson, though, accepts Suarez’s defence. He tweeted his support of his friend the day after the T-shirts came out at Wigan. His  loyalty to Suarez is admirable. It is clearly genuine, as is his fear that Suarez may turn his back on the Barclays Premier League.
‘I wrote what I thought on Twitter,’ Johnson recalled. ‘Then when I saw him the next day he came over and said thanks and that it meant a lot to him. I didn’t write that for him to come and say thank you. I just wanted to let people know my point of view. Like it or hate it, I don’t care.
‘It was nice for him to see his team-mates supporting him, I guess. But what people don’t appreciate is that these things stick with people and it can ruin careers. He could get almost forced out of Liverpool. He’s a good lad and a fantastic player and all he wants to do is get on and play football.
‘I can’t understand how people don’t get that in his culture the word “negro” or “negrito” is genuinely normal. Just because he’s out of his country he is not going to stop using his mother tongue. If we went to another country, we would use our slang, wouldn’t we? I can’t see why somebody can get in trouble for using his culture in another country.
‘I work with him every day. I know what he is like. Other people don’t. I will not change my view.’
 
Brought up in Greenwich, south London, Glen Johnson used to fight with those who called him names associated with his colour. Happily for him, he has not had to put his fists up during his years in the professional game with West Ham, Chelsea, Portsmouth and now Liverpool.
‘Obviously, racism was there,’ he reflected. ‘Like any kid I had my fights growing up after somebody called me something stupid and I reacted the wrong way.
‘But I think the game is OK. We have had the two big issues this season, with two high-profile players who you wouldn’t expect it from. But I have never had it in a game from another player. Never.
‘When something like this happens then it seems to put it in people’s minds again and then it happens more for a period until  people forget about it again.
‘It’s very frustrating for all the people who work in the anti-racism campaigns. They must think their work is being undone. But I don’t feel like that at all.’
Johnson can empathise with Suarez a  little. He, too, has had image problems. During his time at Chelsea and Portsmouth, his commitment to the game was questioned.

Settled: Johnson is enjoying life on Merseyside, and is in a rich vein of form
Two stories stuck with him, one suggesting he forgot his passport on a Chelsea trip — it was actually a club official’s fault — and another that he had tried to steal a toilet seat, of all things, from a hardware store.
‘There were a lot of things said and written that weren’t great,’ he said. ‘It has died down a bit and it is all about football now, which is what I want to be known for. But it took a while and that’s why I feel for Luis. Mud sticks. The B&Q one was ridiculous. There was nothing else to do but laugh.
‘I mean, come on, did anyone really believe I would do that? What thief walks through the till trying to pay with their credit card in their hand? They are normally running out of the door, aren’t they?
‘The thing is that things like that affect everybody. My mum is hearing things she doesn’t need to be hearing. My brother is hearing things he is having rows about.
‘But it’s gone now. Now it’s just about the football. That’s how I want it.’

Settled: Johnson was an £18million signing from Portsmouth by Rafa Benitez
Brought to Liverpool by Rafael Benitez, Johnson suffered a little under Dalglish’s predecessor Roy Hodgson last season. The current West Bromwich manager didn’t always seem to trust his defensive work. It is something Johnson has heard before.
‘It’s just a talking point, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘They just say it about everyone. As you get older you improve all areas and hopefully I have.’
Johnson is settled at Anfield. What’s more, he may yet be about to find the England team is managed by Harry Redknapp, the man who first gave him first-team football at West Ham and subsequently took him to Portsmouth. Johnson — who once described Redknapp as his ‘mentor’ — said: ‘Only Harry can decide if he wants it.
‘All I can say is that he’s a fantastic man, a great manager. He has helped me a lot. At the age of 15 he believed in me and gave me the chance to train and play with the first team. He helped my family out a lot when I was growing up. All that side of it.
‘Then he signed me again at Pompey and that was when I played for him properly.  He has always had faith in me and that’s welcoming. Not everyone has.’
 
Say what you like about the modern Liverpool, but it would be wrong to question the club’s unity or sense of purpose. The Premier League season may not yet yield the top-four finish many would consider a pre-requisite, but Liverpool do have the Carling Cup on the shelf.
Liverpool also have Kenny Dalglish, their iconic manager, who is clearly as revered inside the home dressing room as he is on the Kop. Happily for Johnson and his team-mates, though, the Scot has abandoned his early attempts to join in during training.
‘When he first started he trained with us for a couple of sessions but he needed a few days’ rest afterwards and knocked it on the head,’ smiled Johnson. ‘At the end — after the hard work — we have little games and he would join in but everybody was too scared to go near him. It was like, “You can’t tackle Kenny Dalglish!”
‘It was good to see, though. He was a  legend as a player and is a legend around the club. He came in and steadied the  ship and brought a fantastic coach in Steve Clarke.
‘Training is sharper and he just put a smile on everybody’s face.
‘We are a tight unit. We defend together and do everything together. We are close on and off the pitch. Kenny Dalglish is good at that.
‘He places an emphasis on it and makes sure he involves everybody. We look forward to going into training and you can see that on people’s faces.’
Johnson accepts a campaign that ends without a place in next  season’s Champions League cannot be considered an unqualified success.
‘No, I wouldn’t say that it would be a success,’ he said. ‘We need to be in the top four. That’s what we would take above all others.’

Race for fourth: Liverpool are the outsiders to secure a Champions League place
He is clearly a player, though, who is intelligent enough to understand what the club has been through this season. There is a sense that the next one cannot start soon enough. Time to wipe the slate clean.
Johnson has only been at Anfield for two-and-a-half years but has a clear understanding of the importance of the club’s reputation. It  is obvious that he takes no pleasure from discussing the Suarez case.
There is no attempt to antagonise Manchester United or indeed Evra. It ought to be stated here that — in this interview — he was merely asked some questions and he answered them candidly.
Like everybody else, he wants to get back to the football.
‘People are now singing, week in week out, that Liverpool are a racist club,’ he sighed. ‘Well, no. We are not. We have had one  incident concerning racism that we believe isn’t true. So how can people think like that? People wanted something to happen that day. I don’t know why they didn’t just scrap the handshakes like they did before the Chelsea-QPR game.
‘It’s sad because those Liverpool and United games are known for big rivalries, big tackles, great football, love of the game.That day everything was not about the  football and that was very sad. It was about everything else.
‘It was good that both clubs came out afterwards and said, “We are over it, it’s in the past. Let’s move on”. That’s how it should be.
‘Everybody should now start loving hating each other again. For football reasons.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2111767/Glen-Johnson-Patrice-Evra-clear-didnt-want-shake-Luis-Suarezs-hand.html#ixzz1oTtJLuMO

F***ing brilliant that. Loved it. Well in Johno!

I have just seen that this had been added to the player thread. If you wish to remove, feel free.

Was exactly what I saw too, despite being told by BBC that this wasn't the case I am very confident it was. Glad to hear someone come out and say it.

Hats off to Johnson.

I agree with him about that thing about McGrath saying he should throw the shirt. I stated before that telling Johnson not to support because he's black was indeed racist.

Hats off to Johnson.

I agree with him about that thing about McGrath saying he should throw the shirt. I stated before that telling Johnson not to support because he's black was indeed racist.

I think people like Paul McGrath don't do the racism campaign any good at all I'm afraid.  Coming out with such divisional comments (and they are as he is clearly separating and could be argued as racist as Glen has just done) is not much different to what Diane Abbot said about white people and colonialism. People like Paul McGrath think that because they are black, they are right on race issues. He showed that this is not the case and was nothing short of an idiot. As for the Uncle Tom reference by that nobody - well I'm not even going to bother with such stupidity.

Good comments from Glen. Glad to see him sticking up for Luis. I think he is the perfect figure to do so, and not because he is black either. I think he is a senior member of the squad, but not to senior that it makes negative headlines.

What he has said has been said throughout this and every other Liverpool forum already, but I guess people will be less inclined to call him paranoid or a conspiracy theorist like the media have been portraying us of late.

He is the only one in our team who can represent us and not get critisied about it.

Fantastic read that, very interesting to hear one of our players speak so openly about the whole thing.

Also good on Ian Ladyman making it absolutely clear that these were direct responses to specific questions as opposed to someone with an agenda wanting a message sent out to a rival club.  Makes a change when someone is actually willing to explore the other side of the story when so many others have stuck with United's view on it all.

Great, great read and good for Glen to not shy away from telling it like it is.

Pretty much confirms what a lot of us were saying, Evra had this all planned and was a genius at executing it to make Suarez look bad. Nice to see it wasn't just a few crazy fans that dreamed this up

on ya glen.

Might just get me a Johno shirt now

Really cracking interview from Glen, put across his opinion honestly and very clearly.

There are a lot of people who want to believe Suarez is a racist because they don't like him, sadly, and Glen's words won't change their viewpoint.

However, for the more open-minded out there, without an anti-Liverpool or anti-Suarez agenda, it could really make them think.

Was great to hear when he said he'd watched the handshake video over a few times and came to the same conclusion as me and a lot of others on here!

Anyway, certainly can't see how this can generate any negative press. And as CRK mentioned, good on the reporter who admitted being against Suarez when the case was happening, yet seemed well convinced by Glen's words and made it clear Glen wasn't the one who instigated the discussion.

Always thought Glen seemed a sound lad, everything is coming together for him on the pitch as his game seems much more balanced these days, and off the pitch he appears to be an excellent element, backing up his mates.

For those doubting if the club is in a better position than last year, then surely the harmony we're seeing between manager and players is a sign of massive improvement. I think players who want to play, and want to play together, will succeed eventually, and despite the money in the game nowadays, you can't buy that kind of atmosphere and spirit, but I digress off-topic a bit there!

Just came across this in the Mail.
 Excellent read and just backs up what we all thought , Evra had no intention of shaking Luis' hand . He really is a delightful person isn't he !!
Glen took a lot of stick over his support of Luis' , so I'm glad he has had the opportunity to spell it out for the likes of Paul McGrath , Luis Suarez is his friend  , he knows him , he sees him everyday and he KNOWS he is not a racist . That is the reason he stood by him , that is the reason the club stood by him and that is the reason we stand by him.
Very intelligent interview by Glen , he comes across as a very grounded ,  thoroughly decent bloke.
Glad he's ours.

 Top lad, top player, top signing. Well in fella.

Not another thread.    We ALL! really need to move on now. What's done is done. We can't change thing so for the good of football lets just get on with it. Its history now.

Not another thread.    We ALL! really need to move on now. What's done is done. We can't change thing so for the good of football lets just get on with it. Its history now.

 I wish you WOULD move on fella. Another classic example of why you shouldn't be on here.

 And BTW I DON'T want to "move on" at all, I'm still f*cking raging about the whole carve up every time I think about it. 

 I wish you WOULD move on fella. Another classic example of why you shouldn't be on here.

Don't you start again, its a pointless exercise.

Don't you start again, its a pointless exercise.

 Not "pointless" because my point is that as a supporter of Manchester United you distort and derail threads (as you are trying to do here). "Futile" might be the word you are looking for, because despite my and others misgivings you still stick around. I will "start again" though each and every time your presence gets right up my f*cking nose.

 This Glen Johnson article, which the Daily Mail has surprisingly decided to publish, is the first non ultra biased article which has appeared on the subject in the national press. As such, AS LIVERPOOL FANS people are more than entitled to post "well in Glen" and other such back slappery. They don't need to be told to "move on" by a f*cking Manc on a Liverpool forum. Speaking for myself I'll move on when I'm good and ready ta, so keep your thoughts to yourself.

Good interview that with Glen.

As much as i wanted this to die down now i want this to be highlighted by the press to see their reaction.. No doubt they would turn it around again though.

The whole episode cant have been easy for Glen either getting stick from people who shouldnt have stuck their noses in.

Top man Glen, respect from us all.

Well done Glen for a well put interview also nice to see the reporter put this "There is no attempt to antagonise Manchester United or indeed Evra. It ought to be stated here that — in this interview — he was merely asked some questions and he answered them candidly." into the interview before everyone jumps on the bandwagon saying "They're stirring the subject up again" .

 Not "pointless" because my point is that as a supporter of Manchester United you distort and derail threads (as you are trying to do here). "Futile" might be the word you are looking for, because despite my and others misgivings you still stick around. I will "start again" though each and every time your presence gets right up my f*cking nose.

 This Glen Johnson article, which the Daily Mail has surprisingly decided to publish, is the first non ultra biased article which has appeared on the subject in the national press. As such, AS LIVERPOOL FANS people are more than entitled to post "well in Glen" and other such back slappery. They don't need to be told to "move on" by a f*cking Manc on a Liverpool forum. Speaking for myself I'll move on when I'm good and ready ta, so keep your thoughts to yourself.

The problen is though PD everytime you and other read more up-dates it eats at you again. The anger comes back which isn't taking the club forward. I'm not saying it isnt justified. The post could go on a existing thread. Starting more threads on the Evra/ Suarez is pointless. Move on and stop letting it eat away at you. There's more to life than this you know.

Well said by Johnson every thing he says i agree whole heartedly with.