Luis Suarez originally tried to deny biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic during a 2-2 draw at Anfield in 2013, according to the striker’s former Liverpool teammate Jamie Carragher.

It was not the first time Suarez had bitten an opponent, with the Uruguayan having been punished with a fine and a two-game ban during his time at Ajax for a similar attack on PSV’s Otman Bakkal three years earlier.

The punishment for biting Ivanovic was much more severe, however, with the now-Barcelona forward being handed a 10-match ban after officials had initially missed the incident during the game.

And former teammate Carragher, who believes that match served to scupper the Reds’ chances of lifting a Premier League title the following season, revealed that Suarez played dumb at first when the teams returned to their dressing rooms.

‘When he came in the dressing room, Luis Suarez actually denied it at first, probably hoping the cameras hadn’t picked it up!’ Carragher told Sky Sports‘ The Football Show. ‘I think it had a massive effect on Liverpool next season because Suarez got a seven, eight-game ban (sic).

‘I think he missed the first four or five games the following season when Liverpool almost won the title – Suarez was their best player.

‘There was two games that Liverpool dropped points in, I think they lost to Southampton 1-0 and drew away at Swansea so five points dropped in the first four or five games and Luis Suarez didn’t play.

‘The form he was in that season, there was a good chance he might have turned one of those games. That act and the ban he got probably affected Liverpool more next season as there wasn’t too much riding on that season before.

‘He did it before at Ajax before he came, there was a situation after which pushed Liverpool to move him on, he wanted to go to Barcelona anyway and something happened at the World Cup.

‘He gets frustrated, I’ve played alongside him, you know it’s wrong but you come out and defend your player and try to stick together as a club and support him. I think it affected him at the time.’