Suarez in limbo

By David Lee Wheatley

Last-chance saloon for Luis?

Having suggested only last week that Luis Suarez should be PFA Player of the Year, the little Uruguayan yesterday showed the side of him that makes me think otherwise with that extraordinary bite on Branislav Ivanovic's arm during a tussle in the box.

The majestic pass for Liverpool's first leveller just after half-time displayed in glorious colour what Suarez is capable of with a ball at his feet.

However, he was guilty of a ridiculous handball to gift Chelsea a 2-1 lead at Anfield through an Eden Hazard penalty, before he and Ivanovic bumped into one another in the penalty area at the other end later in the match.

The frustrated forward's animalistic reaction was to grab hold of Ivanovic by the right arm and sink his teeth into it. It was a truly remarkable sight to witness one professional savagely attacking another in such a way, shocking the thousands in attendance and millions watching at home on TV.

Tricky to the last, Suarez feigned a leg injury immediately after the flashpoint by limping slowly away from the scene, his face contorted in mock pain. He knew the ref wanted a word and was surely concerned that Kevin Friend had seen what he'd perpetrated.

It turned out the ref had only seen the aftermath of the tangle between the two and gave Suarez a brief talking to. As soon as the official said something to the Liverpool striker, Suarez argued back, seemingly forgetting he was meant to be hurt in some way!

At the tail-end of the contest and with the initial period of six injury-time minutes over, the controversial forward popped up with a headed equaliser to give the Reds a share of the spoils.

Television pictures clearly showed the barbaric behaviour of the Liverpool man and it is yet another Suarez-related embarrassment for the proud Merseysiders to overcome.

Despite Chelsea's Ivanovic accepting an apology over the telephone from his assailant, it remains likely that there'll be retrospective action taken by the FA in the form of a lengthy ban. In the meantime, his stunned club have slapped him with a hefty fine that the player himself insisted should go to the Hillsborough families support group.

It's been an emotional week for Liverpool Football Club, following on from the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster and the sad passing of die-hard campaigner for justice Anne Williams.

The response to this incident is one the club, along with the FA, can ill-afford to get wrong.

Follow me on Twitter: @davewh1980