The 10-game ban handed out to Luis Suarez has prompted our columnist TONY DALLAS to suggest the real issue is more deep-rooted than a simple case of red mist

LUIS Suarez’s antics have got him into trouble yet again.

Big trouble. Only this time football has the perfect opportunity to put mental health and wellbeing at the top of the agenda.

We’ve always had the bad boys of football. If the truth be told, every fan wants the kind of player that would throw his head betwixt flailing boots without hesitation in their team.

A player that instils fear in any who dares oppose them.

However, biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic on the arm is taking one’s appetite for the game a little too far.

What was he thinking? For a split second you could see the red mist as they call it descend and Suarez’s eyes turn maniacal. The fact that Ivanovic didn’t retaliate under such provocation is a great credit to him and a lesson for others.

The problem is Suarez has bitten before, when playing for Ajax. So the size of the FA fine doesn’t really address the underlying issues of Luis Suarez the man.

Genius is sometimes considered close to madness and there is no doubt with the ball at his feet he is, indeed, a genius.

But whatever the reasons, his anti-social behaviour couldn’t have gone unchecked.

Many clubs now have clinical psychologists and the work they do should be applauded and, more importantly, highlighted.

This way the negativity surrounding mental health and wellbeing can be challenged and players such as the Liverpool maestro can get the help
they need without the stigma attached.