LIVERPOOL striker Luis Suarez’s 10-match suspension cost him the chance of becoming the Football Writers’ Association’s Footballer of the Year.
Tottenham winger Gareth Bale landed the award, topping the poll of journalists with 53% to claim a narrow victory over Manchester United’s Robin van Persie, with Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata in third place.
Suarez received just two votes in a poll conducted after he had bitten Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
FWA chairman Andy Dunn said: “There is no doubting the incredible talent of Luis Suarez, and I think at one point a lot of our members believed that his behaviour was improving, and for that reason, several seemed prepared to vote for him. However, the biting incident changed all of that
“In the end nearly every writer apart from two found it impossible to give our award to someone who had just been banned for 10 games for biting.
“Some people have the view that the receipt of a prestigious award can have redemptive powers, that it can make players realise they have responsibilities – clearly the two who voted for Suarez must think along those lines.”
The award completes a hat-trick for Bale, who was last week named Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year by the Professional Footballers’ Association.
