Tuesday 1 July 2014 16:38, UK
Former England manager Graham Taylor has welcomed Luis Suarez’s apology for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini but has urged FIFA to intervene and offer the “troubled” Uruguay striker help.
roSuarez apologised for his actions during Uruguay’s game against Italy on June 24 and apologisd to Chiellini and the “entire football family.”
Taylor acknowledged the apology had come later than expected but admitted hihe is genuinely concerned for the 27-year-old Liverpool striker.
“I’m pleased it has come although I think it should have come earlier,” Taylor told the World Cup Report on Sky Sports News.
“He will have seen the TV pictures and being with his family and being out of the situation he probably thought it was something he had to do.
I really feel this is a young man in trouble. I personally feel that this is a man who is in desperate need of some help, some medical help.
“But I really feel this is a young man in trouble. I personally feel that this is a man who is in desperate need of some help, some medical help.
“I think he has got a problem that really needs looking into if he is prepared to have that help.
Taylor added: “It seems the whole of Uruguay came together. He went home as a hero but the quicker this gets solved the better for everybody.
“I would have liked to have seen a reduction in ban (from FIFA) with a demand for him to seek help.
“If there had been an admission straight away then who knows but I think his family have played a big part in his admission.”
But Taylor, who spent three years in charge of England, condemned Netherlands winger Arjen Robben following the Bayern Munich forward’s admission that he dived in his nation’s round-of-16 victory against Mexico.
He said: “It’s cheating isn’t it? If you dive and you haven’t been touched it’s called cheating isn’t it?
“I’m not a great supporter of FIFA in many respects in terms of how they deal with things . Sometimes they are put into difficult positions, I understand that, but I think the whole thong needs looking at.
“That is cheating and it needs dealing with properly.”
You'll be able to watch both Luis Suarez and Arjen Robben in Champions League action next season on Sky Sports 5 - the new home of Champions League football.
