Dalgish: Suarez needs protection

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has called on referees to start protecting Luis Suarez after his team’s 1-0 loss to Fulham on Monday.

A Clint Dempsey goal five minutes from the end was enough to give Fulham all three points, with Liverpool being hampered by the 72nd-minute sending off of Jay Spearing.

Suarez had a legitimate penalty appeal rejected and struggled to win many decisions from referee Kevin Friend in the English Premier League encounter, despite appearing to be manhandled on a number of occasions.

Dalglish said the Uruguay striker, who was jeered by the Craven Cottage supporters for his past diving controversies, is getting a raw deal from officials.

“We will look after Luis – it is about time he got a little bit of protection from some people,” Dalglish said.

“There is not much you can do about referees, but his integrity is impeccable. He can look himself in the mirror and can go to bed and sleep soundly. If other people can do that, fine. He is honest.”

Dalglish was unhappy with Friend’s decision to send off Spearing for a tackle on Moussa Dembele, in which the Liverpool player won the ball but made contact with Dembele’s ankle on the follow through.

“It’s frustrating because we don’t know what the level of acceptance is. If referees explained that, we would know where we stand,” he said.

“Jay is upset obviously. He had no other thought in his mind than to win the ball. We will have to look to see if it is worthwhile appealing.”

Fulham boss Martin Jol, meanwhile, was angry with Spearing’s challenge, but pleased with the effort of his team.

“I will be honest. I saw the tackle from three angles and it could have broken his ankle,” Jol said.

“They played a 4-3-3 again and in hindsight it was a good decision to play with Moussa Dembele.”

“It helps us as a midfield to create chances. If he starts scoring goals then I think Dembele will be a major player in the game.”

“It was much-needed and a good win. If you win 1-0 and keep a clean sheet, it is always pleasing.”

“The sending off helped us but we were well organised and I think we have the players to score goals in this league.”