It’s Brendan Rodgers I feel sorry for

Liverpool are certain to launch an appeal over the ban handed down to Luis Suarez.

But you can’t defend the indefensible and the player’s actions in Brazil were disgraceful.

FIFA had to take a stand. They had to send out a strong and clear message for the good of the game.

The part of the punishment I don’t agree with though, is the decision to try to prevent him from training with his team-mates.

That is wrong and over the top. You can’t deny a professional footballer the right to train at his club’s training ground.

Legally, I’m not sure that is possible for FIFA to implement anyway. It is a first and I’d be surprised if Liverpool aren’t successful in overturning that part of his punishment.

Will they manage to change the four-month ban? I honestly don’t think so and Uruguay have absolutely no chance of overturning the nine-match international ban.

And you just wonder if the player himself honestly believes there has been some sort of witch-hunt or whether, in the cold light of the day, he admits responsibility.

Surely he must have looked himself in the mirror and accepted he was out of line?

You just can’t go around biting opponents and not expect the punishment for doing so to be severe.

If it was the first time this had happened, and he’d had a rush of blood to the head, then I’d be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. But it’s not. It’s the third occasion Suarez has done it.

How many kids watched him attempt to bite Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini? It was witnessed by millions all around the world and to try to defend him for being such a bad example is inexcusable.

I feel especially sorry for Liverpool and, in particular, their manager Brendan Rodgers. They are the innocent victims in the sad affair.

With the backing of Rodgers, Suarez has become one of the finest strikers in world football. We maybe describe some players as world-class when they aren’t but this guy is. He’s the real deal.

And it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid are still interested in signing him. The best football clubs in the world want the best players in the world.

What the future holds for him I just don’t know. Will Liverpool back him or cash in on him? That is something for Brendan to decide.

He backed Suarez when he was involved in the racial row with Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and once again when he bit Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.

The big question is will he back him a third time? Sir Alex Ferguson backed Eric Cantona when he infamously karate-kicked a Crystal Palace fan which earned him a nine-month suspension.

For me, spitting remains the most disgusting thing you can do to an opponent and I accept elbowing or head-butting someone on the football pitch is likely to do more damage than what Suarez did.

But it all comes back to the message it sends out to children. They copy their heroes they want to wear the same boots, they want to score the same goals and they mimic their goal celebrations.

Football needs to show the kids what Suarez did was wrong. I also think he has to hold his hands up and offer a genuine apology.

I can’t see him properly repairing his reputation again after this but a bit of contrition might be a start.