The former player and manager at Anfield has blasted the Football Association for their treatment of the Reds’ Uruguayan striker, believing he did not receive a fair hearing
Kenny Dalglish has blasted the FA for their treatment of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, who the Merseyside legend believes has not been given a fair hearing.
Although Dalglish admits that the striker was “wrong” for his “uncacceptable” act, the former Liverpool manager is calling for the FA to reform its disciplinary hearing process.
He wrote in The Daily Mirror: “Let’s start with the fact that the FA said before they had appointed the so-called ‘independent’ regulatory commission that Suarez deserved more than the normal three-game ban.
“Well, by saying that, they prejudiced the findings of the commission before it has even begun. They appointed the people to sit on it and they have told them they are there to give him more than three games.
“So those three people know they have to give the player more than three games just to justify their existence.
“How ‘independent’ does that make the three-man commission? I wish the FA would just stop playing with words. Because this panel wasn’t truly independent and to say it was is blatantly misleading.
“The FA chooses who sits on it to begin with. Does that make it ‘independent’? And who sits on it? An ex-player, an FA council member and a lawyer already known to the FA.
“So there’s an FA council member on an ‘independent’ FA commission. That’s convenient. And there’s an ex-player, who would probably like to do more work for the FA. That’s convenient, too.
“Are they paid, by the way? Are they paid by the FA? Do they do it for free? I don’t know the answer to those questions but I’d like to know.
“The point is that the structure of an FA disciplinary procedure like this is inherently unfair. They hide behind excuses about the referee saw it or didn’t see it, punished it or didn’t punish it.
“The FA has been in need of widespread reform for a long time. The need is getting more and more pressing.
“These regulatory commissions have to be independent in more than just name.”