Suarez fined after biting Ivanovic

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been fined by the club after biting Branislav Ivanovic in Sunday’s Premier League match against Chelsea.

The Uruguay international used his Twitter account to confirm the punishment, having earlier revealed that he had spoken to Ivanovic and issued an apology to the Chelsea defender.

The 26-year-old tweeted on Monday: “For my unacceptable behaviour yesterday, the club has fined me today. I have asked the club to donate the money to the Hillsborough Family Support Group for the inconvenience I have created to the Liverpool fans and to Ivanovic.”

Liverpool confirmed the fine on their official website but did not reveal the amount, but it is likely to be substantial after manager Brendan Rodgers described Suarez’s actions as “unacceptable”.

Suarez is also set to be hit with a lengthy ban from the FA, who also suspended him for eight matches in 2011 for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

The latest controversy arose in the second half of Sunday’s 2-2 draw, in which Suarez scored a 97th-minute equaliser after conceding a penalty, which was scored by Chelsea’s Juan Mata, for handball.

Suarez also supplied a terrific assist for Daniel Sturridge’s goal early in the second half, but his contribution was overshadowed by his tussle with Ivanovic, which saw the striker sink his teeth into the Serbian’s arm.

It is not the first time Suarez has bitten an opponent; he was banned for seven matches for biting the shoulder of PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in 2010.

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) announced that Suarez would be offered anger management counselling.

PFA chief Gordon Taylor said he was disappointed by Suarez’s conduct but added that the players union would offer support to him.

“There is no doubting his football ability, that’s why it is so disappointing and embarrassing when he lets himself down,” Taylor said.

“We have to work hard on anger management now. We have trained counsellors in this field and we will be offering their services to Liverpool and the player to try and improve matters.”

Suarez was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year on Friday and had been among the favourites to scoop the award. Taylor admitted it would be “embarrassing” if Suarez did receive the honour following his latest indiscretion.