Suarez thanks fans for support in racism row

Luis Suarez on Friday thanked Liverpool's fans and those of his former club Ajax for their support during the recent racism row engulfing the Uruguayan player.

The Liverpool striker had to apologise for refusing to shake hands with Patrice Evra after coming face to face with Manchester United's captain for the first time since being given an eight-match ban for racially abusing the Frenchman at Anfield in October.

"I want to say thanks for the great support that the Liverpool's fans have given me in these last days," Suarez wrote on Twitter.

"I would like to say thanks again to fans of Ajax for what they did. As you know I am Uruguayan, so I want to say thanks to the fans, players and managers of Nacional (his first team) for their great support today! A million THANKS for everybody!"

Suarez on Thursday received the support of Uruguayan president Jose Mujica, who claimed the 25-year-old "is not racist".

Suarez "does not merit the media pressure to which they have submitted him to, because we know that he is clearly not racist, that he never has been and that he never will be," the Uruguayan leader said on his radio show "Habla el Presidente".