Round 25 of the Premier League: Suarez refuses to shake hands, Henry saves the day
On February 12th, British time, the 25th round of matches in the 2011/12 Premier League season concluded. The league leaders Manchester City continued their strong form with a narrow 1-0 away victory over the tough Aston Villa side, securing all three points and maintaining their lead at the top of the Premier League table. The highlight match of this round was between the reigning champions Manchester United and their long-time rivals Liverpool. Ultimately, the home team Manchester United had the upper hand, defeating Liverpool 2-1 thanks to Wayne Rooney's brilliant brace, keeping them in pursuit of Manchester City by just two points. Liverpool remains in seventh place, making it increasingly difficult to break into the top four. Tottenham enjoyed a resounding victory, thrashing Newcastle 5-0 at home. Newly transferred Louis Saha scored two crucial goals for his new club. After this game, Tottenham still sits in third place, seven points behind Manchester City, still harboring hopes for the championship. Newcastle remains in sixth place. Chelsea, who have been performing poorly recently, suffered another defeat, losing 0-2 away to Everton, dropping to fifth place. Arsenal achieved a dream-like victory, drawing 1-1 with Sunderland in the 90th minute before Thierry Henry once again delivered a classic last-minute goal, helping the Gunners secure a hard-fought 3 points, overtaking Chelsea in points and entering the top four.
Suarez sparks controversy again [HandshakeGate], Liverpool apologizes collectively
Unresolved old grudges and new resentments arise between Suarez and Evra
Evra celebrates victory next to Suarez
[HandshakeGate] reignites disputes
The focal point of this round’s matches came from the historic rivalry between Manchester United and Liverpool. In their first meeting this season, they drew 1-1, and not long ago, Liverpool eliminated Manchester United in the FA Cup. Therefore, Manchester United was particularly motivated this time around, ultimately defeating their opponent 2-1 thanks to the outstanding performances of Evans and Rooney. Rooney, with his two goals, moved up to second place on the Premier League scoring chart with 17 goals, trailing only Van Persie by five goals. Although Suarez managed to score a late consolation goal, it was not enough to change the outcome.
The biggest post-match focus, however, stemmed from a small pre-match incident that overshadowed the significance of the game itself. During the players' handshake ritual, Suarez, who had just returned from an eight-match ban for racially abusing Evra last year, refused to shake hands with Evra. Evra immediately became angry, grabbing Suarez's wrist in an attempt to "force" the handshake. The situation was eventually defused by surrounding players and the referee, avoiding another potential conflict. However, this incident filled the game with tension right from the start. Post-match, as the victor, Evra "playfully" jumped and sang around Suarez, seemingly trying to provoke him into making another mistake. Fortunately, the referee and players intervened in time, preventing the situation from spiraling out of control.
In post-match interviews, both managers inevitably defended their players. Ferguson bluntly stated: "I can't believe what I saw. He (Suarez) is a disgrace to Liverpool and should be permanently banned from representing Liverpool. Liverpool is a club with a long history, but today his personal actions almost sparked a riot. I am extremely disappointed in him; this terrible beginning created a terrible atmosphere for the match." Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish played it safe: "I don’t know about Suarez refusing to shake hands. I wasn’t there, I didn’t see it. You shouldn’t overly criticize Suarez; that’s what caused today’s conflict."
These scenes quickly became the front-page headlines of various sports media outlets. Clearly, Suarez should have used the pre-match handshake to dispel any suspicion of racial discrimination, but [HandshakeGate] once again thrust him into the center of public criticism. This time, the odds are heavily against him, with almost no one speaking in his defense. Even Liverpool legend and current BBC senior football commentator Alan Hansen described Suarez's behavior as "unacceptable." Soon after the match, Liverpool's commercial director Ian Ayre, manager Kenny Dalglish, and Suarez himself issued apologies on the club’s official website. Manchester United also promptly responded, accepting the apology on their official website, seemingly bringing the matter to a close. However, this was merely a precursor to a bigger storm. It's reported that Liverpool owner John W. Henry was furious about the incident and has already made the decision to dismiss Suarez and Dalglish. This isn’t solely an issue of honor and public relations image; several of Liverpool's sponsors, including main sponsor Standard Chartered Bank, have already begun pressuring the club to severely punish the pair. Clearly, this concerns Liverpool's substantial economic interests, and facing nearly £100 million, Liverpool will not tolerate these two former and current "kings."
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Forever the "King of Highbury" Henry
Tevez returns to Manchester City from Argentina
Arsenal fans witnessed once again the impressive figure of their former king in this round. In stoppage time, Henry scored a perfect goal to help the team secure all three points, defeating Sunderland, who had only lost twice in all competitions since O'Neill took charge in December. As his second farewell performance in the Premier League, Henry did not disappoint anyone's expectations. Since returning on loan this year, despite limited playing time, his efficiency is reminiscent of his prime, scoring three goals in 125 minutes, one helping advance to the FA Cup quarterfinals, and another earning three points. This is undoubtedly due to Wenger's still sharp eye for talent. All good things must come to an end, and Henry is about to embark on his journey back to America, with all Gunners supporters giving him their best wishes.
And interesting things in this world are countless; some you want to keep but can't, others you try to get rid of but won't go away. Recently, Manchester City has become the new focus. After seeing the team consistently leading the Premier League for half a season, Carlos Tevez, who had been sidelined for more than five months, could no longer contain himself and publicly apologized, expressing his wish to return to the squad and play, without appealing the club's punishment. In media interviews, although Tevez apologized to the club, he still insisted he was not wrong, revealing many details of the incident at the time, claiming that Mancini treated him like a dog, which led to his refusal to warm up at Mancini's request and subsequently triggered a series of events.
Regardless of how the incident unfolded, the fact remains that the "Argentine Beast" was the top scorer for the team last season, and it is also a fact that he has lost nearly £10 million since being sidelined. With Manchester City's current determination to win the championship, Tevez is a pragmatic person. He knows that if a simple apology can bring him great honor and substantial wealth, why not? However, this path will not be smooth. Even if Mancini can forgive past grievances, he still has to face nearly sixty percent of the fans opposing his return to Manchester City, as well as some teammates who refuse to cooperate. Whether Tevez's career will take a turn for the better remains to be seen.