Former winger says sacking striker would be 'ridiculous''If he can't play for Liverpool anymore he can't play for anyone'

The former Liverpool winger John Barnes has branded talk of Luis Suárez never playing for the club again as "ridiculous" after the striker's bite on the Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

Barnes told BBC Radio 5 Live: "He has to suffer the consequences of his actions – that's all he has to do. I've heard talk about him not playing for Liverpool again, which I think is ridiculous. I've heard talk about him bringing the good name of Liverpool down, which is also ridiculous – he's brought his own good name down.

"If you're saying because of what he's done he should never play for Liverpool again, who should he play for? Whoever signs him, it's going to reflect badly that they sign a player who Liverpool deem from a moral perspective not good enough.

"So Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona ... they can sign him? But we can't have him? If you're questioning his moral character, what you're actually saying is that if he can't play for Liverpool he can't play for anyone, which is ridiculous.

"The reflection on Liverpool is their response to the actions and their response is right. The response from [the managing director] Ian Ayre and the club is 'it's completely unacceptable and we will not accept it'."

The player looks set to face a lengthy ban for the incident, with Barnes saying Liverpool should wait until the Football Association has dealt with the matter before possibly handing out their own sanctions.

"The FA should act first and Liverpool will then see what punishment is meted out and then come up with their own conclusions, because they could ban him for five or seven games and then he gets another 10-game ban from the FA rather than the FA banning him or doing whatever they have to do first," he said. "They should see what the FA do and then respond after."

Another former Liverpool player, David Fairclough, believes it would be "extreme" for the Reds to decide to sell Suárez in the wake of Sunday's incident. He told Sky Sports News: "I don't think you can take an extreme view like that.

"He's the best player in the team at the moment, he's one of the best players in the world, his ability is unquestioned and his performances this season have generally been top class, so to just wipe their hands of him and send him packing I think would be a little bit extreme."

Suárez was banned for seven matches in the Netherlands in 2010 after another biting incident when he was an Ajax player, and the former Liverpool captain Alan Hansen strongly criticised the striker.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Hansen said: "You're not expecting anything like this. This is absolutely appalling. Why he did it, we will never know. He's got previous, there's obviously a massive flaw in the character.

"To watch these pictures that will be going right round the world is horrific for Liverpool football club, their history, their tradition, and for the player himself. When he sees these images, he'll be apoplectic. It's just appallingly bad."

Hansen also cast doubt on speculation Liverpool could sell the controversial striker. The former defender said: "He's a brilliant player that's had a brilliant season and if Liverpool get rid of him the losers will be Liverpool, there's no doubt about that. There'll be lots of clubs wanting to take him."

The former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel believes Suárez's value to the club will ensure he remains at Anfield. He told TalkSport: "Liverpool won't want to get rid of their best player. I know from an American psyche that the owners will not be happy with what they're seeing but they're businessmen and they're not going to want to just get rid of £22m of investment.

"They will try and work with him. He's an outstanding footballer but someone has got to try and get hold of him. Luis Suárez must have some sort of anger issues. You never hear about Luis Suárez making a bad tackle or things of that nature. It's always something that astonishes people.

"I've played with a few of Suárez's former team-mates and they all get along with him at training and off the field. They all say he's a good player to have in your team but he's one of those players who crosses the boundary."

The Marseille midfielder Joey Barton, meanwhile, believes Liverpool should support Suárez because it is his dark side that makes him such a good player.

Barton wrote on Twitter: "Suárez is a good as a player as there is in world football at the minute. Yes, he's messed up and shouldn't have bitten another player but a player like him has to play right on the edge. Without it he wouldn't be the talent he is.

"LFC would be mad not to back him IMO ... if they don't I'm sure the queue of Champions League clubs would stretch round the block. Only have to look up the M62 and see what Fergie did with Cantona to know Suárez is worth it. Yes, HE is that good!"

The former player and assistant manager Phil Thompson believes Liverpool have done the right thing in offering full and speedy apologies and fining Suárez.

Thompson told Sky Sports News: "Luis apologised, then we had the club apologising and now they've fined him very quickly. In the FA's eyes, they will look at Liverpool football club as having acted in the right manner as befits the club.

"But in terms of thinking, 'We may get away with a lesser ban', I don't think anything like that's been done. Luis Suárez will get a massive ban, 10 games plus or maybe even more, maybe a monthly ban as Eric Cantona got. We have to be willing and ready to accept that."