Dont often agree with Ferguson but.........

[AustrianAndyGull]

Says here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17004667" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; that he has assured officials he WAS going to shake hands, so he is a complete idiot for then not doing it.

Also, what did you want the MOTD pundits to say?

Sadly, exactly everything they DID say. Media friendly sound-bites and all that.

[Alpine Joe]

The pundits comments shouldn't have surprised anyone. Don't forget that Hansen has just be hauled over the coals & forced to make a public apology for saying the word 'coloured' rather than using the politically approved term 'black'.

If you've read about the fortune Hansen gets paid he's going to bend over backwards to please his employers & try to make amends for this. He'll make doubly sure he's singing from the approved hymn sheet from now on. By the same token you won't find any BBC employee whether they be a 'pundit' or hosting a talk show defending Fabio Capello. The employees will toe the Corporation line all the way, there's a reason why the non existant handshake was edited into the sequence of goals during the closing credits of last nights Match of the Day & there's a reason why a whooping Evra being moved away by the referee from celebrating in Suarez's face wasn't shown during that same sequence..

Hansen, Shearer & Lineker know who their paymasters are & you should expect them to act & speak accordlingly.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I didn't really expect anything else than what you have said AJ. They should be politicians but i don't know if ovines are permitted into the cabinet.

[Bigman]

Surely the handshake is all about showing respect, so for Suarez to blank Evra on this front when the whole trouble started with what initially began with him being massively disrespectful/insulting to me was a stupid thing for him to do. He may well not be happy with Evra for getting him in trouble and still believe himself to be innocent, but if only as a PR stunt and to help the matter blow over and get on with some football he should've shaken the guy's hand. Perhaps if he had stated beforehand that he wouldn't and given his reasons for it many of us would still disagree with his decision, but perhaps be able to respect and understand him a little more.

As for Rio, I think his reaction is justified, as I think in his position I would have lost all respect for Suarez in that moment.

Evra at the end of the match was over the top and he should've been more sensible, but think the referee and Liverpool players getting involved made that incident worse than it worse. I don't imagine either will face official punishment, but both have lost face.

[Alpine Joe]

The way things were until a season or two ago, players would shake hands at the end of a game, & if as Bigman claims, the handshake 'is all about showing respect' then those who didn't like or didn't respect each other would choose not to shake hands. The problem with the pre match handshakes is that it it's a one size fits all policy & creates difficult pre match dilemmas for some players such as Wayne Bridge who has to balance Bigman's definition (i.e that the handshake is about showing respect) when he obviously loathed John Terry & had no respect for him, against the F.A's wish to see all players shake hands irrespective of how contemptible they find each other.

Suarez has little respect for Evra,( rightly or wrongly) & doesn't wish to shake hands with him. Ferdinand doesn't respect Suarez & doesn't shake hands with him & so it continues. If the handshake is ALL about showing respect ( & I'm not sure how handshaking as a PR stunt is OK under that definition) then being forced to shake the hand of someone you loathe is naturally going to grate & possibly cause even greater resentment.

Normally when you've done your time or served your punishment then that is the point that a line has been drawn under the matter. I could quite understand why the F.A dropped their silly handshaking policy rather than inflaming the situation by making Anton Ferinand & John Terry shake hands a few weeks ago. I was surprised to learn that the same commonsense approach wasn't being applied to Evra & Suarez as it seemed a recipe to stir things up again.

Evra claims to have been the victim of racist comments & Suarez claims to have been the victim of an unjustified suspension...& they each think they have been sinned against by the other. I don't think any punishment can be issued by stating an offence has been committed by not shaking hands,mainly because Rio Ferdinand will have been guilty of committing the same offence.

Had Liverpool won the game & Suarez had conducted a 'whooping arm waving celebration' in front of Evra then the F.A might well have considered that punishable ,but I think that will be overlooked as well.

It's been a difficult episode all round, but the really REALLY good news that it's all over now...just in time for the 14th <3

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/spo ... 202134886/

[AustrianAndyGull]

Surely the handshake is all about showing respect, so for Suarez to blank Evra on this front when the whole trouble started with what initially began with him being massively disrespectful/insulting to me was a stupid thing for him to do. He may well not be happy with Evra for getting him in trouble and still believe himself to be innocent, but if only as a PR stunt and to help the matter blow over and get on with some football he should've shaken the guy's hand. Perhaps if he had stated beforehand that he wouldn't and given his reasons for it many of us would still disagree with his decision, but perhaps be able to respect and understand him a little more.
As for Rio, I think his reaction is justified, as I think in his position I would have lost all respect for Suarez in that moment.

Evra at the end of the match was over the top and he should've been more sensible, but think the referee and Liverpool players getting involved made that incident worse than it worse. I don't imagine either will face official punishment, but both have lost face.

Exactly the point i was trying to get across Bigman but you've put it in more succint terms. It wasn't the fact he refused to shake Evra's hand, i don't have a problem with that but it was the fact he had agreed to do it and then didn't which tells you all you need to know about what kind of man he is. Sneaky, sly, weak and pathetic.

[Bigman]

Yeah, it was your point that made me think that Andy

I thought players still tended to shake hands after matches, or have I got my rose tinted specs on? I suppose in this instance the handshake would act as acknowledgement of having played a good game or congratulations on the effort put in or the result (in an act of humility), but again a respectful gesture. It could also serve as clearly marking that any animosity between players is left on the pitch (as it should be).

In the case of Suarez, I accept that he may have little respect for Evra and not want to shake his hand, but in the interest of avoiding further bad publicity for both himself and the club he could've momentarily swallowed his pride and touched the guy's hand for half a second. You may say this would go against his beliefs that he is innocent and Evra has wronged him, but if he can't see that he is at least partly in the wrong (accidentally or otherwise) then he's a moron.