Suarez: I have dived for Liverpool

Luis Suarez has admitted he has dived to gain an advantage for Liverpool but claims there is a conspiracy against South American players who are given a rougher ride in the Premier League than their English counterparts.

The Liverpool forward made the astonishing admission in an interview with Argentinian Fox Sports, and he went on to reveal that he even asks himself, “What have I done?” when confronted with yet another controversy on the pitch. Suarez, who has scored 15 goals for Liverpool this season, made direct reference to an incident when he threw himself to the ground in a 1-1 draw with Stoke last October.

After the game, Stoke coach Tony Pulis called the dive “an embarrassment” and demanded that Suarez be punished retrospectively.

“It’s complicated to play here in England,” Suarez said. “As Carlitos (Tevez) and Kun (Aguero) have said, it’s complicated for a South American footballer to be here, as we are treated differently to the local footballers. But they have their culture, that’s what they are like.

“I don’t listen to all the nonsense some people say about me. I’m accused of cheating here. People say I throw myself (to the ground] all the time inside the box. Let’s see: they said it when we played against Stoke, for instance, and in that case, they were right. I invented a foul because we were drawing 1-1 against Stoke and I wanted to win.

“Sometimes inside the pitch I say to myself, ‘What have I done?’ But the name of Suarez, it sells papers.”

The latest outrage involving Suarez was when he used his hand to control the ball before scoring what turned out to be the winning goal in Liverpool’s third-round FA Cup win against Mansfield.

Mansfield’s most prominent clergyman, Reverend Bob Jones, 67, led the calls of approbation against Suarez, bemoaning the lack of values in the modern game.

“The other day, for instance, I touched the ball with my hand accidentally, and I was criticised because I kissed my hand,” Suarez said.

“The media make up a lot of things about me but I say to them: you should talk more about football, not about other stuff.”

Suarez went on to insist that Liverpool were not a one-man team: “I can help Liverpool today. We are united and we can play well. Liverpool doesn’t depend on me,” he added.