Villa, Man Utd legend McGrath: Liverpool players were shameful

23/12/2011

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Former Manchester United and Aston Villa defender Paul McGrath was shocked by Liverpool's players wearing Luis Suarez t-shirts before their draw at Wigan Athletic.

The public show of solidarity came after Suarez was handed an eight-match ban and fined £40,000 by the Football Association for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

But McGrath told talkSPORT: "Maybe Kenny [Dalglish] is trying to make a statement to the FA but I just think it is in bad taste that he sent them out in those T-shirts. It would have been much better forLiverpool Football Club if they had have worn anti-racism shirts.

"It’s about respect. There’s this issue going on about respecting your opponents. It is actually a game. The game itself has gone too big, it’s about winning and the money. The actual element of football being a game has long since gone, it is all about protecting your interest, protecting your best players.

"There are a lot of children that watch these games and to have done what they did last night, doing their warm-up in T-shirts with his smiling face on it, having just been done for a supposedly racist comment to one of his opponents, is shameful for football. It puts the anti-racism campaign back to the beginning as far as I'm concerned.

"If I was in Glen Johnson’s situation, I'd have thrown the shirt to the floor," he added. "If that had been someone in my time and I'd heard the comments or I'd even suspect he was guilty, and obviously there has been a tribunal, then I would not wear a T-shirt with his name on it, saying all is well and good here."