So far, there has been nothing from Patrice Evra to indicate what he thinks of the Football Association's verdict, whether he thought the hearing was fair and what he makes of the backlash against him, but it is fair to assume there is vindication and, perhaps, the sense of a strange set of circumstances when a black footballer can be racially abused and yet come out of it with his reputation dismantled, too.

Liverpool have stopped short of branding him a liar, but only just. They have gone public that he is "not credible" and, on the first two days of Luis Suárez's hearing, their lawyers made a great play of pointing out that when Evra exchanged punches with a Chelsea groundsman, Sam Bethell, in 2008, the FA disciplinary commission considered his evidence "exaggerated". As recently as last week, Kenny Dalglish seemed convinced his player would get off on the basis that Liverpool planned to expose Evra as an unreliable witness.

Out of it, the perception has grown that Evra likes to "play the race card". The idea has grown that he is trouble, that he will say anything, that he has previous. It has been a blur of spin, bandwagon-jumping and, in some cases, deliberate deception. The result, football being the business it is, is that because enough people have set out to discredit him, they have managed to do so through sheer weight of numbers.

The Manchester United full-back is not entirely blameless and if it is true that he had an Ali G moment with the referee, Andre Marriner, and complained he was being booked only because he was black, there is a legitimate question of why this was not reported to the FA separately.

Liverpool want charges to be pressed because of the way he spoke to Suárez in "the most objectionable of terms". All we know so far is Evra said something along the lines of "Don't touch me, you South American," though more will emerge when the FA releases its full findings.

But Evra never cited racism in the Chelsea case, contrary to what you may have read elsewhere. Liverpool's extraordinary statement referred to Evra having no credibility and used as an example his "prior unfounded accusations". Except it was Mike Phelan, United's assistant manager, and Richard Hartis, the goalkeeping coach, who purported to hear the word "immigrant" used at Stamford Bridge. The story that it was Evra has gathered so much momentum now that even the usually reliable Press Association presented it as fact. Liverpool, they said, were referring to "racism allegations Evra made against Chelsea groundsman Sam Bethell, which were not proven".

The truth is something completely different. Likewise, Evra kept his distance when two deaf United fans complained they had lip‑read Steve Finnan making a racist remark to him during a Liverpool-United game in 2006. The simple truth is that Evra has complained of being racially abused only once before, and that was the 1-1 draw at Anfield on 15 October.

If this were politics, it would be described as a smear campaign. Perhaps, if this were not United versus Liverpool and two such high-profile players, Evra might even be congratulated for having the courage to stand up to what Paul Goulding QC and his colleagues have now identified as racism, subject to a possible appeal. That is, after all, what the authorities want. Yet Evra has not been portrayed as the victim in the real sense of the word, and Liverpool have argued that he is, indeed, the villain, unreliable and malicious when it comes to the truth. It will hardly encourage others to come forward the next time someone is called a "negro" on a football pitch.

His form has plummeted, too. While Suárez has embellished his reputation as Liverpool's outstanding player of the season, there is a feeling at Old Trafford that the strain may have affected Evra. He has had an erratic year but a blip has become a full-blown slump and it was startling to see a left-back who once had legitimate claims to be recognised as the best in the business look so vulnerable at Queens Park Rangers last weekend. The FA's independent commission may have come down on his side, but that vindication does not come without its downside.