Tuesday, 9th October, 2012
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has pointed to Stoke City defender Robert Huth’s stamp on Luis Suarez as evidence the treatment of the club’s Uruguayan striker has spun out of all perspective.
Following Liverpool’s 0-0 home draw against the Potters in weekend Premier League action, Stoke boss Tony Pulis quickly came out to slam Suarez for what he saw as a dive in the second half.
relatedNewsStoryPulis suggested that the Reds forward should be slapped with a three-match ban to ensure he does not dive again.
Since Pulis’ comments, there has been a storm of analysis around Suarez and much criticism of the Uruguayan’s supposed tendency to go to ground easily.
Amidst the storm over Suarez however, Stoke defender Huth’s stamp on the striker in the same game has received relatively little attention in the opinion of Rodgers – something which the former Swansea manager believes is clearly not right.
"As manager of this football club I find it incredible that in nearly all the coverage about Luis Suarez this weekend, very little focus has been placed on the fact that he was actually the victim of a stamping incident within the first five minutes of the game", Rodgers told his club’s official site.
"At this moment there seems to be one set of rules for Luis and another set for everyone else", he added.
"Diving and simulation is obviously a wider issue in football and one that we all agree has to be eradicated from our game but there were other incidents this weekend that didn’t seem to generate the same coverage.
"No one should be distracted by the real issue here, both at Anfield and at another game played on Sunday, when Luis and another player were hurt in off-the-ball incidents that went unpunished but were caught on TV cameras.
"I believe some people need to develop a sense of perspective and I also believe in this moment the vilification of Luis is both wrong and unfair."
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