Kenny Dalglish has said he was not dismissed as Liverpool manager due to his defence of Luis Suarez and believes more senior Anfield figures should have taken responsibility for the club’s handling of the striker’s racism charge.
Dalglish was at the forefront of Liverpool’s belligerent support for Suarez after he was found guilty of racially abusing Patrice Evra and handed an eight-match ban last season.
The Scot was often the only person to defend Liverpool’s position with the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group, silent throughout and the managing director Ian Ayre extending an apology only after Suarez refused to shake Evra’s hand at Old Trafford.
Asked whether the Suarez saga had cost him his job, Dalglish said: “I don’t think so. That was up to them [the owners]. I can go to sleep at night knowing what I did I did to the best of my ability.
“It wasn’t just me [making decisions]. The T-shirts [worn in support of Suarez at Wigan] were the players wanting to show their support for a team-mate.”
Guardian Service
