Liverpool's
Luis Suarez celebrating after scoring, only for his effort to be
disallowed during the match against Wigan. The Reds striker was booked.
LONDON: Luis Suarez was at the centre of
another controversy on Saturday, with Wigan manager Roberto Martinez
branding the striker 'an artist' for his part in Liverpool's disallowed
goal in the Reds' 1-2 defeat.
With the score at 1-1 after 52
minutes, the Uruguayan appeared to handle the ball over the line at
Anfield but celebrated as though he thought his effort was legitimate.
Referee Lee Mason booked him instead and ruled out the attempt, drawing praise from Martinez.
'We all know Luis Suarez is an
artist at getting free kicks for himself in dangerous situations,' said
the Spaniard, after leading Wigan to their first-ever win at Anfield.
'Lee Mason was very strong today and he had to be.'
Suarez had previously come under criticism for
his goal-line hand-ball against Ghana at the 2010 World Cup that helped
Uruguay reach the semi-finals. Following that incident, he hailed the
hand-ball as 'the best save of the tournament' and claimed that he had
the real 'Hand of God', instead of Argentina's Diego Maradona, who
scored by pushing the ball into England's net at the 1986 World Cup.
And although Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish
could not steer Liverpool away from their fifth loss in six league
games, he was adamant that Suarez's 'goal' should have stood.
'There was no rhyme or reason why the second goal was chalked off,' said the manager.
'The ball hit his shoulder, he played it in
with his shoulder, you must have a different television to me if you
think it was hand-ball. And to be booked as well? It wasn't justified,
he was jumping for the ball.
'But we can't control referees, we can control ourselves. We'll brush ourselves down and get ourselves going again.'
The loss leaves Liverpool stuck in seventh
place in the table - 13 points adrift of the Champions League spots -
and on their worst run since January 2005.
Dalglish has staunchly defended his record
this season and claimed only last week that anyone who cannot see vast
improvements on and off the field from 12 months ago is in need of an
'intelligence check'.
But the latest defeat - days after collapsing
against another relegation-threatened side in Queens Park Rangers - only
served to heap more pressure on the Scot.
Dalglish, however, served up another reminder
of the club's success in two Cup competitions, blaming the loss to Wigan
on fatigue caused by their runs in both the League and FA Cups.
The Merseyside outfit have already won the
League Cup and reached the FA Cup semi-finals this season, and he
believes that the extra fixtures that come with that success have left
his players drained of energy.
'I think we looked a bit tired. If you play Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, it is going to take its toll,' he said.
'It's a problem we face and a problem dictated
by the TV schedule and maybe the fact we have done well in two Cup
competitions has given us a lot of extra fixtures.
'We accept progress in the Cups so we have to accept they are going to be a little bit tired.'