Luis Suarez has reiterated that it was unfair for him to be banned for eight matches for racially abusing former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during his time at Liverpool.
In December 2011, the Uruguayan, who signed for Barcelona in the summer, was found guilty of racially abusing the Frenchman during a match against the Red Devils at Anfield in October of that year.
As well as an eight-match ban, Suarez, who has admitted to calling Evra "negro" once during the incident, was given a £40,000 fine.
In an interview with The Guardian, Suarez said: "I know I was wrong with the biting and the diving but I was accused of racism without any proof. There were lots of cameras, but no evidence. It hurts me the most that it was my word against theirs.
"Every culture has its way of expressing itself, and that's a word people in Uruguay use all the time, whether somebody's black or not black. It gets used a lot without those connotations, and that's why it is completely different to how it is expressed in England, no?"
When asked if it was his intent to insult Evra, Suarez said: "No, not at any time. I just said, 'why, negro?' and it was just like asking, 'why?'. These are things that footballers say, that happen all the time."
Suarez will make his debut for Barcelona in tomorrow's El Clasico against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Danielle Joynson
