Suarez is a disgrace - Ferguson

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson branded Luis Suarez a "disgrace to Liverpool Football Club" and claimed he should never play for them again following his refusal to shake Patrice Evra's hand ahead of Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils captain offered his hand to the Uruguay international, who was banned for eight matches for racially abusing the defender, but he bypassed the Frenchman and went straight to goalkeeper David de Gea. Evra attempted to grab Suarez's arm to complete the formalities, but the striker shrugged him off.

On Suarez's refusal to shake Evra's hand, Ferguson said: "I could not believe it, I just could not believe it. He's a disgrace to Liverpool Football Club, that certain player should not be allowed to play for Liverpool again."

He added: "The history that club's got and he does that and in a situation like today could have caused a riot. I was really disappointed in that guy, it was terrible what he did."

Both sets of players reportedly clashed in the tunnel at half-time and again on the pitch as United celebrated their 2-1 victory. Ferguson added on Sky Sports 2: "It created a tension, you've seen the referee didn't know what to do about it.

"It caught him off guard. It was a terrible start to the game, a terrible atmosphere it created."

Asked if the pre-match handshakes should have been scrapped for the game as it was last month when John Terry and Anton Ferdinand faced each other, he said: "That's a different issue altogether.

"It's never been a problem really up until this situation regarding racism, it's never been a problem. We've got to get our house in order in terms of fighting racism. It's an important issue in this country.

"Football's come a long way from the days of John Barnes when they were throwing bananas at him to where we are today. We can't go back. We have to go forward in a positive way and ban it altogether."

Evra enthusiastically celebrated the win in front of Suarez at the end, and Ferguson said: "He shouldn't have done that."