Many pundits have called for the Reds to ship the controversial Uruguayan out of the club following his latest transgression, but the official says there is no intention to do so

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre says Luis Suarez’s bite on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has no bearing on his Anfield future.

The Uruguay striker appeared to sink his teeth into the arm of Ivanovic during Sunday’s 2-2 draw, and he has since apologised and been fined by the club.

Many pundits have called for the Reds to sell their star striker, while manager Brendan Rodgers admitted that “anybody can be replaced” in his post-match observations.

But when questioned on Liverpool’s official website, Ayre, who also believes the club have dealt with the issue sufficiently, refuted suggestions that Suarez could be shown the door.

“Not at all,” he responded. “It affects his future in the sense that we have to work with him on his discipline – but Luis is a very important player to the club.

“He’s a very popular player with his teammates. As we keep saying, he signed a new four-year contract last summer and we’d all love to see him here throughout that contract.

“He’s a fantastic player, top scorer and everything we’d want in a striker, so there’s no change there. This is more about getting him back on the right track and it’s largely down to Brendan now to work with him on that side of his character.”

Liverpool received criticism from all quarters over their handling of last season’s race row involving Suarez and Manchester United left-back Patrice Evra, but Ayre believes the club have done as much as they can this time around.

“I think the most important thing is that we acted swiftly [Sunday],” he added. “Luis issued his apology and then we spoke with him last night and then again this morning.

“We’ve taken action to fine Luis for his actions. Brendan has spoken to him and I’ve spoken to him, and Brendan will be working with him further on his discipline.

“You can see when you speak to him how sorry he is about it and he’s certainly shown quite a lot of contrition to us – and as part of that, he’s also asked we donate the fine to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

“I think he felt like he let a lot of people down yesterday. We’ll work with Luis – Brendan particularly – on this side of his character in his game. Hopefully that puts the matter to rest from our point of view and we’ll wait and see if there’s any further action from the football authorities.”

The Liverpool striker is set to be offered help in controlling his temper following Sunday’s biting incident, which what was the latest event in an already controversial career

The Professional Footballers’ Association says that Liverpool striker Luis Suarez will be offered anger management counselling following his bite on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

The Uruguay striker has since apologised to Ivanovic for his “inexcusable behaviour” during Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Anfield, and he has also been fined by the club, but he will likely face a lengthy ban from the Football Association.

The 26-year-old was suspended for seven matches during his time with Ajax for biting PSV’s Otman Bakkal, and he sat out eight Premier League matches last season for racially abusing Patrice Evra.

And Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the PFA, says his organisation will offer help to the controversial forward.

“There is no doubting his football ability, that’s why it is so disappointing and embarrassing when he lets himself down,” Taylor told the Press Association.

“We have to work hard on anger management now. We have trained counsellors in this field and we will be offering their services to Liverpool and the player to try to improve matters.”

The Reds forward looks set to be given a retrospective ban following a bite on Branislav Ivanovic and Paddy Power expect the 26-year-old not to feature again this season

Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea will be remembered for years to come thanks to an incident involving one of English football’s most divisive personalities.

The undoubtedly talented Luis Suarez was at the centre of attention for wrong reasons before his last-minute equaliser salvaged a point for Brendan Rodgers’ men. Suarez was involved in a second half clash with Blues defender Branislav Ivanovic in which he bit the Serbia international’s arm.

Although no punishment was given to the Liverpool forward at the time by referee Kevin Friend, the incident will be reviewed by the FA and it looks likely that Suarez could face a lengthy ban for his actions at Anfield.

Paddy Power make the 26-year-old 4/11 (1.36) not to play for Liverpool in the Premier League again this season while the Irish bookmakers offer 15/8 (2.88) that Suarez features again before the end of the campaign for the Reds.

The former Ajax man was given a seven-game ban for biting PSV player Otman Bakkal during his time in the Eredivisie and offer 11/10 (2.10) that the ban imposed on Suarez this time is seven games or more, four to six matches is priced at 7/4 (2.75) while three or less can be backed at 11/5 (3.20). All bets will be void if no ban is given.

Suarez was amongst the six players nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award but this incident will surely curtail any chances he had of picking up the prize, despite leading the Premier League top goalscorer chart on 23, two ahead of Robin van Persie.

Coral make Suarez 6/1 (7.0) to still be crowned player of the year although after another dazzling second half display by Gareth Bale in Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Manchester City, the 2/7 (1.29) about the Wales international picking up the award looks unlikely to be troubled.

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Jim Knight is Betting Editor at Goal.com and has been tipping football games since he was old enough to place a bet. He is a Leicester City fan, writer and member of the We Are Going Up Podcast

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