[Reprint from SUN]

LUIS SUAREZ has finally said sorry for the racial slur which landed him an eight-game ban — but not directly to Patrice Evra.

Liverpool striker Suarez was suspended after using the word "negro" to Manchester United defender Evra at Anfield in October.

Suarez had been condemned for failing to say sorry to Evra in the wake of the three-man FA commission's verdict but, at last, offered an apology last night.

Yet he pointedly failed to mention the Frenchman specifically, as he insisted it was meant to the whole of football, rather than just the United left-back.

Suarez said: "I admitted to the commission I used a word in Spanish once, and only once, and told the panel members I will not use it again on a football pitch in England.

"I never, ever used this word in a derogatory way and if it offends anyone then I want to apologise for that."

It is the first conciliatory step after the mud-slinging which surrounded the most controversial case of its kind to come before the FA.

On Tuesday Liverpool accepted the verdict, yet are unhappy at the way it was reached and will seek talks with the FA, arguing there should be a higher burden of proof.

The Reds feel the decision was reached on probability — essentially one man's word against another — rather than hard facts.

They claim key points of evidence were ignored by the commission, with the hearing heavily weighted in favour of Evra.

That includes the Frenchman's initial allegation Suarez said "negro" 10 times, which he later altered to five, leading to the Anfield defence team's suggestion he was unreliable.

Suarez admitted using the word "negro" with the Uruguayan adamant it is often used as a standard form of address in his own country.

He will now be sidelined until February 6, assuming Liverpool do not slip up in tomorrow's FA Cup clash against Oldham, a week ahead of the powderkeg return at Old Trafford.

（一个慢牛）