13 February,2012 07:46 AM IST | | PA Sport
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has claimed to have lost all respect for Liverpool's Luis Suarez.
Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand refused to shake Suarez's hand prior to United's 2-1 Premier League win at Old Trafford.
He took the decision as a direct consequence of Suarez opting not to shake Patrice Evra's hand as the players conducted their traditional pre-match greeting.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez
It was Suarez's first start since serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Evra at Anfield in October.
The incident came a fortnight after the Football Association scrapped the handshake prior to Chelsea's FA Cup fourth round tie at QPR and an equally tricky reunion between Rio's brother, Anton Ferdinand, and John Terry, who has been accused of racially abusing the defender, also in October.
"I thought it was bad decision-making from their guy," Ferdinand told MUTV.
"It's a touchy subject at the minute and things could have been put to bed a little bit easier if the handshake had been done.
"After seeing what I saw I decided not to shake his hand.
"He's not got the respect that he needs to have in these situations and acknowledge he's made a mistake and say sorry and move on from that. I lost all respect for the guy after that," said Ferdinand.
Meanwhile, Alex Ferguson has branded Suarez "a disgrace" and called for Liverpool to sack the South American.
