Evra reveals he received death threats during Suarez racism storm
Patrice Evra reveals he received death threats – including one from a man in PRISON – and needed 24-hour security outside his house after Luis Suarez racism storm in 2011 which saw Liverpool striker banned for eight games
- Patrice Evra was racially abused by Luis Suarez during match at Anfield in 2011
- Liverpool striker was banned for eight games and fined £40,000 by the FA
- Man United defender revealed he received death threat letters after incident
- One came from a prisoner who said he’d kill Evra upon his release from jail
- Evra needed 24-hour security at home and was tailed by suspicious cars
- He was shocked that Liverpool continue to support Suarez even after verdict
Patrice Evra has revealed he received death threats from prisoners during his racism storm with Luis Suarez and his family were left living in fear.
The Manchester United defender was racially abused by Liverpool striker Suarez during a Premier League match at Anfield in October 2011.
Uruguayan striker Suarez received an eight-match suspension and a £40,000 fine from the Football Association and avoided shaking Evra’s hand when the two teams met at Old Trafford later that season.
Luis Suarez (left) was banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 after being found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra (right) during a Liverpool vs Manchester United clash in 2011
Evra has revealed he received death threats – including one from a prisoner – after the incident
But while the incident was investigated, Evra was targeted by furious fans and was forced to being in security to protect himself and his family.
‘I started to receive hate mail from Liverpool fans, handwritten letters sent to United,’ Evra writes in his new autobiography, serialised by the Sunday Times.
‘They were opened by Barry Moorhouse, then the player liaison officer and long-time United servant. “Pat, this is a really serious case,” he said as he showed me some of then letters.
‘One was from a man in prison who said that the first thing he was going to do when he got out was kill me.
‘The police came and told me they had to take it seriously. For two months, I had 24-hour security in front of my house.
Suarez refused to shake Evra’s hand when the two teams met at Old Trafford late that season
Liverpool backed Suarez despite the FA’s verdict, something which Evra found surprising
‘Given my background, I wasn’t scared, but my family were.
‘One day, I was driving my car and I could see someone following me. When I stopped, the car stopped and did a U-turn.
‘The police had already been tracking the car. Nothing came of it, or if it did, I wasn’t told.’
After the FA found Suarez guilty of using ‘abusive and/or insulting words and/or behaviour contrary to FA rules’, including ‘a reference to the ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race of Evra’, banning him for eight games, Liverpool publicly came out in support of their player.
Suarez wears a t-shirt in support of himself along with his Liverpool team-mates shortly after he was handed the eight-game suspension in December 2011
Evra deliberately celebrates in front of Suarez after United beat Liverpool in February 2012
They issued a statement saying: ‘We totally support Luis and we want to the world to know that. We know his is not racist.’
The Liverpool players also wore t-shirts in support of Suarez while warming up ahead of a game at Wigan.
Evra said: ‘When I saw them with the Suarez shirts, I thought, “Really? He’s been found guilty and you’re still supporting him?”
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