Manchester: Liverpool striker Luis Suarez refused to shake Manchester United defender Patrice Evra's hand, when the two were involved in an angry confrontation on Saturday during a pre-match handshake in the players' first meeting since the Liverpool forward was banned for racially abusing the France international.
Evra extended his hand to the Uruguayan striker but Suarez appeared to ignore the defender and refused to shake hands with Evra when the line-ups crossed prior to the Premier League match at Old Trafford, infuriating the United captain.
The Frenchman angrily proceeded to grab his opponent's arm and tried to pull back Suarez as the Uruguay international moved to shake hands with goalkeeper David De Gea, who was next in the United line, but Suarez did not acknowledge Evra, refused to turn back and and carried on along the line.
Evra threw up his left arm UP in disgust, while United teammates Rio Ferdinand and Danny Welbeck — who are both black like Evra — reacted to the incident by pointedly refused to shake Suarez's hand moments later, completely ignoring the 25-year-old. Evra was then spoken to by referee Phil Dowd.
The match is the first time the two have come face-to-face after Suarez recently returned from an eight-match suspension for repeatedly calling Evra 'Negro' in the first league match between the fierce northwest rivals this season at Anfield on October 15.
United manager Alex Ferguson said the prospect of a pre-match handshake would not be an issue but Suarez's reaction is set to ensure the incident rumbles on, although the teams do not meet again this season.
Suarez was booed by United fans whenever he touched the ball after the game started, with the away supporters doing the same for Evra, in what made for a hostile atmosphere at Old Trafford. Evra was jeered by Liverpool supporters in the FA Cup fourth-round match between the sides two weeks ago as well.
The most high-profile match in the English game, which United won 2-1 to go top of the standings overnight, was suddenly overshadowed.
There were reports that Evra tried to confront Suarez in the tunnel as the teams walked back to the dressing rooms at half-time, sparking a melee between the two sets of players.
After the match, an emotional Evra danced in delight in front of the United fans, patted the badge on his jersey to whip up the crowd and — tellingly — ran past Suarez who was trudging off the pitch dejectedly.
Liverpool players Jose Reina and Martin Skrtel rushed over to protest against Evra's actions. Stewards and police had to intervene for a second time.
"For a club with their history, I'd get rid of him, I really would," Alex Ferguson told MUTV. "Liverpool Football Club have a player banned for eight matches and they've tried to blame Patrice Evra. It's him they should be blaming. He could have cost them a European place."
Suarez scored Liverpool's goal in the 80th minute to reduce the deficit to 2-1, but wasn't at his best throughout.
Reacting to the match in a Twitter post, he barely referred to the furore he had caused.
"We are lost and we are sad because we have made a big effort," Suarez wrote. "Disappointed because everything is not that it seems."
The focus on the pre-match handshake was just as intense a fortnight ago in a match between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers that also had a backdrop of racism.
QPR defender Anton Ferdinand - the younger brother of Rio - was spared having to decide whether to shake the hand of John Terry when the Football Association allowed the teams to forego the ritual before their match.
That match was the first meeting of the west London rivals since Terry was alleged to have racially abused Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October.
Terry will face a criminal charge over the incident in July and has already been stripped of the England captaincy by the FA, a decision that led to the departure of Fabio Capello as coach this week.
Capello was unhappy he wasn't consulted by the FA over the decision.
The FA may now regret deciding not to pull the pre-match handshake at Old Trafford, and is now duty-bound to ask for further evidence from Dowd over what happened at the end of each half.
The governing body will be thankful the teams do not meet again this season.
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