"Exaggerated, absurd and out of place." That was the verdict of Uruguay's national director of sport as Luis Suárez's eight-game ban became a matter of state. Players, coaches, media and the government have come out in support of the Liverpool striker, while the national football federation has offered legal backing through the Uruguayan embassy in London. The striker Sebastián Abreu insisted that Suárez has "3 million Uruguayans behind him" and the former international Richard Morales, who is black, insisted: "[Patrice] Evra should not play at being Padre Popelka." Father Ernesto Popelka is a revered former footballer, priest and psychologist.
"This [ban] leaves a bad feeling," said Ernesto Irureta, the national director of sport. "What is happening in Europe is a product of their [wider] problems, not of what happens between players – and one of those is racism. That reflects a lack of values in society. We have a country with [racial] differences but it is a long way from those in the Old Continent [Europe]. Suárez may act with words or gestures in certain moments but this ban is exaggerated, absurd and out of place."
Celso Otero, assistant to the Uruguay coach, Oscar Tabárez, described the ban as "excessive" and sought to reassure Suárez that his position with the national team "has not changed in the slightest". The captain, Diego Lugano, said: "I cannot believe it: this is a huge error that is being made. Obviously in England there is a problem with racism and they are trying to eradicate it, which is good, but this [ban] has no solid base. Luis is a victim." The national football association reiterated its "total solidarity and support" for Suárez.
A failure to allow for different cultural interpretations was at the heart of much of the criticism in a country where one newspaper ran with a huge front-page headline that simply said: "Irrational". Uruguayans do not see the use of "negro" or "negrito" to be offensive at all and Marcelo Tejera, who played for Southampton, bemoaned "a campaign to push [Suárez] out to another league".
"They [Uruguay and England] are different cultures. For us [what was said] is normal and it doesn't affect you," said Morales. "They're making a drama out of something that for us is entirely natural. But England is totally different. The only thing [Suárez] could have got wrong is not knowing that. And in any case, you have to be sure whether or not [Suárez] actually said it. Evra shouldn't play at being Father Popelka, because he's nothing like him."
Gustavo Poyet called the ban a "fiasco". Poyet drew parallels between this case and the incident at Stamford Bridge when Evra made accusations of racism against a Chelsea steward. "This is very worrying," he said. "It could happen to me or to anyone tomorrow. I could find myself in a defenceless position based on what just one person claims I have said. [After the Stamford Bridge incident] nothing was proven and no one believed [Evra]. I imagine he's happy now."
