Suarez denies being 'racist' in light of Evra 'negro' row three years ago

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has revealed in his new book that he is not a racist and the word 'negro', which he used in his row with Manchester United's former defender Patrice Evra during his Liverpool days, was misunderstood by people who do not speak Spanish.

Suarez admitted that he did use the Spanish word 'negro' in an argument that took place, in Spanish, with Evra on 15 October 2011 in a game between Liverpool and Manchester United, but has argued that the word is not a racist slur in the language.

The striker writes that he had been horrified when he first realised that he is being accused of being a racist for using that word and has explained what the word actually means in Spanish, The Guardian reported.

Suarez writes that he was accused of racism against Evra. He claims that Evra started the argument in Spanish with him and the striker called him 'negro', which simply means 'black' and nothing more in Spanish.

Suarez has claimed that the word is spelled the same way in English but pronounced differently and is highly offensive, but admits that he did not even know this at that time.

The former Liverpool striker has written that he had said 'Por que, negro?' to Evra in Spanish, which means why black, as he was asking him that why was the United defender complaining about the foul and then the Uruguayan touching him during the game.

But, Suarez further wrote that his phrase was passed down the line to the referee as 'Porque eres negro' instead, which means 'because you are black'.

Suarez has written that he is still sad and angry to think that this is a stain on his character that would probably be there forever.