The FA have announced that Luis Suarez has been given a ten game ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.

A stern sentence was expected from the governing body, however the fact that the ban for biting is two games above the ban for racially abusing an opponent (Suarez was dealt an eight game ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra in 2011) will almost certainly lead to a questioning of the consistency in the bans.

The FA decreed the standard three game ban for violent conduct was insufficient in relation to the offence, aand so added an additional seven games.

Suarez has until Friday to appeal the additional games, beyond the standard three games for violent conduct.

The FA has released the following statement regarding the ban.

“Luis Suarez has been suspended for a total of ten matches after an Independent Regulatory Commission today ruled on a charge of violent conduct.

A three-person Independent Regulatory Commission today upheld The FA’s claim that a suspension of three matches was clearly insufficient and the player will serve a further seven first-team matches in addition to the standard three. The suspension begins with immediate effect.

This follows an incident with Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in Sunday’s fixture at Anfield.

The Liverpool forward had accepted a charge of violent conduct but had denied The FA’s claim that the standard three-match sanction was insufficient for the offence.

The incident was not seen by the match officials and has therefore been retrospectively reviewed.

Suarez has until midday on Friday 26 April to appeal the additional suspension, above the standard three matches.”