Uruguay's President calls for support to Suarez

 　　MONTEVIDEO, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Uruguay's President Jose Mujica on Thursday expressed his solidarity¹ with the country's world famous soccer player Luis Suarez, who has got himself involved in a spat² on accusations³ of racism⁴ against French player Patrice Evra.

　　Mujica called on all Uruguayans to stand by Suarez and support him, while he also denied that the star player on Uruguay's national team was a racist⁵.

　　"It is necessary to ratify⁶ the affection this small country has for Suarez and to show our solidarity with him," Mujica said in a radio broadcast, adding that "we all clearly know that he is not racist and that he never has been."

　　The spat started after Suarez, who currently plays as a forwarder for the England's club Liverpool, avoided to shake hands with Evra ahead of a match last Saturday between Liverpool and Evra's club Manchester United, a match which Manchester United went on to win 2-1.

　　This is not the first time tension has arisen between the two players, as Suarez last year was suspended for eight matches after Evra denounced Suarez for taunting⁷ him with racist insults.

　　Mujica said the whole affair had been "exaggerated" by the local sports press in Britain and that Suarez immediately after the match had appologized to Evra and his club for the incident.

　　"His mistakes will help him learn what are the good manners in social relations," said Mujica, who also said part of such problems emerge because players like Suareaz are not trained to be "a formal diplomat⁸."

　　Suarez, 25, was elected to be the best player in the South American Football Confederation's 2011 Copa America tournament which Uruguay won in July last year.

1 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

2 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

5 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

6 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

7 taunting   

嘲讽( taunt的现在分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• She wagged a finger under his nose in a taunting gesture. 她当着他的面嘲弄地摇晃着手指。
• His taunting inclination subdued for a moment by the old man's grief and wildness. 老人的悲伤和狂乱使他那嘲弄的意图暂时收敛起来。

8 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。