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Former Manchester United winger Patrice Evra has revealed that he needed security outside his home for two months after receiving death threats in the wake of the racism dispute with Liverpool forward Luis Suarez in 2011.
Suarez received an eight-game ban from the Football Association after being convicted of misconduct for using insulting words at Evra, which included a reference to the defender’s color, at Anfield in October of that year.
But Liverpool publicly endorsed its striker, for which Jamie Carragher apologized in October last year, and Evra said he faced a huge backlash that included threatening letters addressed to him and his family.
“Manchester United received so many threatening letters about me,” Evra said on the club’s UTD podcast.
“People were saying, ‘We are in jail, we are Liverpool fans. When we get out, we will kill you and your family.’
“For two months, I had security wherever I went. They were sleeping in front of my house. Wherever I went, security followed me. It was a difficult time, but I was not afraid. My family was afraid: my wife and brother, but not me.
“I couldn’t understand why people hated me so much. They didn’t know the truth.”
Evra, who saw his offer of a handshake before a game rejected by Suarez in the following February, says he has forgiven the Uruguayan and spoke to the now Barcelona player before the 2015 Champions League final when he was playing for the Juventus.
But remembering the original incident now, Evra revealed that he had to control his emotions at the time.
The Frenchman reported the incident to referee Andre Marriner, who said it would be dealt with after the match and that both players should continue.
“I remember, during that game, I was talking to myself saying, ‘If you hit him now, people will see you as the bad guy, people will forget what he said,'” Evra said.
“I was talking to myself: ‘Don’t … do it …’ I wasn’t focused on the game.”
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