I hope Luis Suarez stays at Liverpool despite Patrice Evra row - Ajax manager Frank de Boer

The striker's former boss admits both player and club have made a "big mistake", but he does not think the Uruguayan is racist and hopes he remains in English football

15 Feb 2012 12:34:00

More On :  Ajax, Liverpool, Luis Suárez, Frank De Boer
Patrice Evra & Luis Suarez
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EXCLUSIVE
By Ashish Sharma

Ajax manager Frank de Boer hopes Luis Suarez will stay at Liverpool despite the fallout from his feud with Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
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Both Suarez and Liverpool were forced to issue public apologies after the Uruguayan refused to shake Evra’s hand prior to Saturday’s Premier League clash between the teams.

De Boer admits he was surprised by the conduct of the striker and his club, but claims the player he knows from his highly successful time playing at Ajax is a ‘warm person’, although he conceded he can get a little hot-headed when playing.

“It’s a bit of a surprise for me as I know him as a really warm person,” the Dutchman told Goal.com. “But he’s a real winner and is all fired up as soon as the whistle goes.

"He’s a guy from the streets of Uruguay. He always wants to win, and does a lot to achieve just that. Sometimes he does some stupid things, like he’s done in the Eredivisie as well.

"He was punished for it though, and I hope that he now stays at Liverpool. There is no doubt that he’s a great player.”

Suarez spent a little over a month under the management of De Boer at Ajax and although the former Barcelona man doesn’t believe Suarez is racist, he does concede he was in the wrong by not shaking Evra’s hand at Old Trafford.

"It was not a wise thing to do,” he admitted. “There are always two sides to a story, but what has happened has hurt Suarez and Liverpool.

“That was big mistake from him and from Liverpool. They knew that something like this could happen, and should have discussed it before. These kinds of things are bad for himself and for the club.

“I can’t imagine that he actually said something racist, and I really hope that he didn’t."

De Boer’s Ajax face United in their Europa League second round tie on Thursday, though Evra is set to miss the trip having not been included in their 20-man travelling squad for the first leg.

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