Liverpool and Suarez say sorry

Liverpool finally bowed to widespread criticism with a flurry of apologies yesterday which they hope will draw a line under the Luis Suarez racism affair.

Reds manager Kenny Dalglish and managing director Ian Ayre confirmed in separate statements that Suarez had misled them by indicating that he would shake hands with Manchester United defender Patrice Evra – who he had racially abused in October to incur an eight-match ban – before snubbing the Frenchman prior to kick-off in the Saturday lunchtime encounter.