Liverpool Manager Brendan Rodgers has accused the FA and PM David Cameron of "prejudicing Luis Suárez's hearing by an independent panel that wanted to 'throw him to the garbage,'" according to Andy Hunter of the London GUARDIAN. Rodgers "issued an extraordinary defence of his leading goalscorer on Thursday" following a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Liverpool "received the written reasons for the punishment after Rodgers spoke, and Suárez has until midday on Friday to decide whether to appeal." The publication of the reasons "could be delayed until after any appeal is heard." Rodgers claimed that Suárez "is being victimised by the FA." Rodgers said the FA punished "the man rather than the incident" with a disproportionate sentence compared with previous incidents (GUARDIAN, 4/25). In London, Tony Barrett reported the FA "would not comment on Rodgers’s claims," and he "will not face any censure for his words." Rodgers believes that the presence of FA officials on the panel "made it a fait accompli that the governing body’s demand for Suárez to receive more than the statutory three-game ban for violent conduct would be rewarded." Rodgers: "You’ve got an FA Council member, an FA county representative and an ex-player. So I don’t know how it is independent. But that is something that needs to be looked at and isn’t the first time it’s been said" (LONDON TIMES, 4/26).
