Liverpool fear Suarez will quit over 10-match ban

LIVERPOOL are concerned Luis Suarez’s 10-game ban for biting Branislav Ivanovic could force him out of England. The Anfield club were “shocked and disappointed” after discovering Suarez’s fate and they fear that the Uruguayan striker will feel he has no choice but to look at moving away this summer

He has been linked strongly with Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, and will now talk things over with his agent, Pere Guardiola – the brother of incoming Bayern coach Pep – and his lawyers. Liverpool insist they want Suarez to stay on Merseyside for the remaining four years of his contract.

But they may have to let the 26-year-old leave if he believes he has become a pariah and feels compelled to examine the alternatives.

Suarez could appeal but the chairman of the Liverpool Supporters’ Club yesterday urged him to keep quiet, accept the ban and bring the sordid matter to a close. An independent regulatory committee decided to administer the stringent punishment yesterday after they convened for the hearing into Suarez’s skirmish with the Chelsea defender.

The ban will sideline the player from domestic football until September – he is free to represent Uruguay at the Confederations Cup in June — but he has until noon tomorrow to decide whether to contest the severity of the suspension.

An FA statement read: “Luis Suarez has been suspended for a total of 10 matches after an independent regulatory com- mission ruled on a charge of violent conduct. (They) upheld the FA’s claim that a suspension of three matches was clearly insufficient and the player will serve a further seven first-team matches in addition to the standard three. The suspension begins with immediate effect.”

The threestrong tribunal has until 6pm today to file its written reasons and only then will it become clear why it decided to take such severe action. It is expected, however, that Liverpool and Suarez will see the written reasons some time before the deadline.

Once they have been studied, the documents will be made public. Liverpool will continue to stand by Suarez, regardless of what action he takes – he is the only one who can decide whether to appeal – and have offered him their full support.

Yet they are aware that losing an appeal could see Suarez’s punishment increased. When the Uruguayan was banned for seven games after biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal in November 2010, he did not contest the length of the suspension imposed by Ajax and the Dutch FA.

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre said: “Both the club and player are shocked and disappointed at the severity of today’s decision. We await the written reasons before making any further comment.”

The feeling is that Suarez has been harshly treated, given that Paolo di Canio was handed an 11-match ban after he pushed over referee Paul Alcock during his time playing for Sheffield Wednesday.

But the sense that Suarez has been hard done by is far from universal and Richard Pedder, the Liverpool Supporters’ Club chairman, said: “I don’t think it’s a shock, I think he deserves everything he gets. It’s down to the club to tell him, ‘This is your last chance’. He won’t leave the club this summer. They shouldn’t have said anything and just accepted the ban. With them releasing a statement, it’s going to go on again and we want it closed. We haven’t had enough but we’re concerned. Nobody is bigger than the club.”

Though Liverpool’s season is petering out, there is little doubt they will miss Suarez’s influence in games against Newcastle, Everton, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers as he has contributed half their goals in the Premier League.

Suarez will also be unable to make any further impression in the race for the Golden Boot, in which he is vying with Manchester United’s Robin van Persie. He remains in contention to be PFA Player of the Year but players’ union chief executive Gordon Taylor has admitted it would be “embarrassing” if Suarez was to win the award.

Taylor said: “It did create quite a strong feeling of condemnation. It is something we don’t want in our game.” – Daily Mail