27 Apr 2013

Liverpool shocked by 10-match ban for Suarez

6:39 am on 27 April 2013

The Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has criticised the English Football Association for prejudicing the hearing that resulted in a 10-match ban for Luis Suarez.

The Reds' leading scorer was given the hefty suspension after biting the Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Suarez will miss the rest of this season and the first six games of next season, and he was reported to be considering quitting English football in protest at the severity of the punishment before accepting the ban overnight Saturday.

The Reds' leading scorer was given the hefty suspension after biting the Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during their 2-2 draw at Anfield on Monday morning.

Manager Rodgers was infuriated not only by the independent panel's ruling, but also the FA's decision to state prior to the hearing that the statutory three-match suspension for violent conduct would be "insufficient".

Rodgers says they need to understand what an independent panel is all about.

The Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina says the decision is absurd and excessive, compared with bans of only four games for some cases of racism.