Nemanja Vidic: 'Luis Suarez, Patrice Evra handshake issue not important'

By Danielle Joynson, Staff Reporter | 21 September 2012

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic says that it is important not to do "stupid things" during this weekend's highly anticipated encounter with Liverpool at Anfield.

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic believes that this weekend's Premier League encounter against Liverpool at Anfield should not focus on the handshake issue between Luis Suarez and Patrice Evra.

Reds striker Suarez refused to take part in the pre-match ritual with the United defender the last time the two sides met on Merseyside but Vidic believes that paying tribute to the 96 Liverpool fans that died at Hillsborough should take precedence.

"Obviously we want to focus on the game," said Vidic. "We have a theme, what happened in history about the fans and we have to respect that day. We just go there to play football.

"If they shake hands, they shake hands. I don't think it's the most important thing in the world. I think it's important to not do any stupid things in the game, to go there and play football – what we dream of, to play that derby and to be all about the football."

Vidic and Reds skipper Steven Gerrard are expected to release 96 red balloons before kickoff on Sunday for the victims of the 1989 tragedy, after previously unseen reports showed that the South Yorkshire Police had altered up to 164 statements in order to deflect the blame onto the supporters.