The LFC and Uruguay star apologized for any offense he may have caused and released a statement thanking those who supported him during this difficult time.
“I admitted to the Commission that I said a word in Spanish once, and only once and I told the panel members that I will not use it again on a football pitch in England,” Suarez said Wednesday.
“I never, ever used this word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I want to apologize for that.”
On Tuesday, Suarez released a statement on the scandal that has dominated headlines for nearly three months. It appears in full below:
First of all I would like to thank everyone so much for all the help and support I have received during these last few weeks.
Thank you to my family, my friends and everybody at LFC (the staff, manager and coaching staff, the directors, my team mates and everyone who is working on a daily basis for this great club) and thank you especially to all the fans who made sure I never felt let down for one second. During those days I understood more than ever what ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ means.
Like many of you I was born into a very humble family, in a working class neighborhood, in a small country. But I was born and raised learning what respect, manners and sacrifice mean. Thanks to my family, from my first club where I started playing, to my transfer to Holland in Europe, I learned the values which made me the person I am now. Never, I repeat, never, have I had any racial problem with a team mate or individual who was of a different race or color to mine. Never.
I am very upset by all the things which have been said during the last few weeks about me, all of them being very far from the truth. But above all, I’m very upset at feeling so powerless whilst being accused of something which I did not, nor would not, ever do.
In my country, ‘negro’ is a word we use commonly, a word which doesn’t show any lack of respect and is even less so a form of racist abuse. Based on this, everything which has been said so far is totally false.
I will carry out the suspension with the resignation of someone who hasn’t done anything wrong and who feels extremely upset by the events. I do feel sorry for the fans and for my team mates whom I will not be able to help during the next month. It will be a very difficult time for me.
The only thing I wish for at the moment is being able to run out again at Anfield and to do what I like most which is playing football.
Thank you very much.
YNWA
Have a question for Marcus Kwesi O’Mard? Send it to him via Twitter at @NESNsoccer or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.
