• Premier League

No foul on Suarez - Eto'o

ESPN staff
December 31, 2013
Samuel Eto'o scored the winning goal against Liverpool © Getty Images
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Samuel Eto'o insists he did not foul Liverpool's Luis Suarez during Chelsea's 2-1 win on Sunday, but has issued an apology to Jordan Henderson for a nasty tackle on the midfielder.

Eto'o did not receive any card for the incident on Henderson, with only a free-kick being awarded, and he went on to score the winning goal as Chelsea came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Stamford Bridge. And Eto'o has revealed he was fortunate to still be on the pitch following the challenge.

"Maybe I should have been sent off. But I'm not the referee. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but we must respect the decisions from the officials," Eto'o is quoted as saying in The Sun.

"During the match in the first moments, the game was passionate on both sides, but people know I'm not violent. I was really sad to see Jordan [Henderson] on the floor - I want to take this opportunity to say sorry."

During the closing stages of the match, Eto'o tripped Suarez in the penalty area in an off-the-ball incident, and while Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers felt his side had been hard done by referee Howard Webb for not getting a penalty, Eto'o says he did not foul his opponent, with Webb waving the incident away.

"The ref did his job. He was two metres away from us," he said. "We can't all be the ref and it's easy for people to talk when they are far away. Yes, there was contact, but I didn't commit a foul."

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