Suarez needs treatment: PFA chief

England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) chief executive

Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of England’s Professional Footballers' Association (PFA)
Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA)

has said the “health issues, counselling issues, mental health issues” of Uruguay’s Luis Suarez should be treated.

Liverpool’s Suarez bit Italy’s defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s match against Italy in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, reports EFE.

“It can’t be acceptable and from that point of view there are serious issues to be dealt with and they’re health issues, counselling issues, mental health issues,” Taylor told BBC Radio 5.

Taylor expressed his fears for Suarez’s football career if he did not “eradicate” this behaviour.

“He certainly needs that to try and eradicate this from his make-up, otherwise I fear for his career,” he said.

Suarez has been banned for two biting incidents before, one against PSV’s Dutchman Otman Bakkal and the other against Chelsea’s Serb Branislav Ivanovic.

“We’ve seen the best of him and the other side in just two games in Brazil,” said Taylor.

Liverpool refused to comment on Suarez’s action, while British media assumed that the club might take the decision to sell the man who scored 31 goals last season. Suarez might be the subject of a FIFA ban after an investigation.

“I’ve been disappointed about England, but doubly disappointing when our player of the year, the Footballer Writers’ player of the year got involved in this unsavoury incident. I thought he’d got himself back on track last season,” Taylor added.

“I would hope as his employers Liverpool would be the first to try to get him back on track again, You’ve got to deal with your issues in your own backyard,” the PFA chief asserted.

“If we can get him back on track, he’s a top-class player, he brings a lot to the game here. If Liverpool could make sure that that the other side of his game was eradicated it would be good for him, good for Liverpool and the game here.”