Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has defended Luis Suarez after the Barcelona star celebrated against his old club last night.
Suarez spent three-and-a-half years at Anfield before making a £75million move to the Camp Nou in the summer of 2014, and opened the scoring in last night’s game when he tapped home Jordi Alba’s cross on 15 minutes.
The Uruguayan then ran away emphatically following the goal , causing debate amongst Liverpool fans on social media.
A further second-half brace from Lionel Messi handed Ernesto Valverde’s side a 3-0 win in Spain - bringing an end to the Reds’ 10-game winning run in the process.
But Nicol has backed the forward following his celebration and even believes that should either Suarez or former Red Philippe Coutinho score at Anfield in the second-leg next week, then both would well be within their rights to celebrate in front of the home fans.
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"I would be more upset if they didn’t celebrate,” Nicol told ESPN FC.
“You’re playing for the fans who have travelled to come and see you.
“You’re one of them now, so you’ve got to celebrate for them.
“I would have celebrated.”
Nicol’s view was backed-up by fellow ESPN FC pundit, Craig Burley, who believes that the players themselves won’t care about the abuse they could receive through celebrating.
“I would imagine most players wouldn’t care,” Burley said.
“Unless you want to become a club ambassador, or become an ambassador.
“I don’t see the issue, you play, you have a rapport, they either care about you or they don’t, and they move on.”
