Luis Suárez has been granted more time by the Football Association to respond to a charge of improper conduct for an alleged obscene gesture to Fulham fans following Liverpool’s defeat at Craven Cottage last week.
And while it is not expected to influence any defence against the improper conduct charge, the emergence of photos in Holland showing Suárez allegedly making the same gesture to Feyenoord supporters while playing for Ajax in January 2010 is likely to be an embarrassing development for the Uruguay forward.
Suárez, who was charged last month with racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, had been due to respond to the improper conduct charge by 4pm on Monday (Dec 12), but the FA has confirmed that Liverpool have asked for further time to reply.
They have also been granted an unspecified extension to respond to a charge of failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion following the dismissal of Jay Spearing during the same game.
Suárez is awaiting confirmation from the FA regarding a date for the personal hearing requested when pleading not guilty to the charge of racially abusing Evra, which dates back to the Premier League fixture between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on Oct 15. With the threat of a suspension hanging over Suárez should he be found guilty, Kenny Dalglish last week described the ongoing failure to resolve the case as a “bit of a joke”. While no date has yet been set for Suárez’s hearing in response to the Evra charge, it is understood that the player is likely to be given the chance to state his case to an FA panel before the turn of the year.
Although the FA closes for business on Dec 23, the disciplinary unit will work as normal in the week leading up to Dec 31, and a hearing could yet be scheduled for that week to ensure that the matter is resolved as quickly as possible. While Dalglish’s misgivings about the length of time taken to arrange a personal hearing are shared by many involved with the case, both at Anfield and Old Trafford, Liverpool’s decision to request further time to respond the charge against Suárez – issued on Nov 17 – resulted in the club being granted an extra week.
As such, the FA’s disciplinary unit has had two weeks to process Suárez’s response and make arrangements for a hearing. It is understood that Suárez will not be expected to respond to both charges against him at the same hearing because of an effort to ensure neither case is prejudiced by the other.
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