Luis Suarez bite: Liverpool striker admits 'my actions were not acceptable' after opting not to contest 10-match ban It was announced earlier today that Liverpool would not appeal against the suspension and Suarez has since released a statement to explain his position. I am truly very sorry about the incident with Branislav Ivanovic. I hope that all the people who I have offended at Anfield last Sunday will grant me forgiveness and I again repeat my personal apology to Branislav," the statement read. It went on: "I know that all the things that are happening to me in England will help me to improve my conduct on the field. Right now I just want to focus on becoming a better footballer on and off the field. Liverpool left the final decision on whether to contest the ban to Suarez himself, who has since explained his reasoning for not appealing against it. I would like to explain to everybody that I decided to accept the ban because whilst 10 games is clearly greater than those bans given in past cases where players have actually been seriously injured, I acknowledge that my actions were not acceptable on the football pitch so I do not want to give the wrong impression to people by making an appeal. The statement from Suarez continued: "I really want to learn from what has happened in the last 2,5 years, many things have been said and written about me. I just tried to do my best on the field. I hope to come back early to play. A statement from manager Brendan Rodgers said: "We can't hide our disappointment at the outcome of this situation, but we have to move on and support Luis in his decision. Luis has made a huge contribution to the squad this season and we respect his decision to accept the ban. He will be missed for the remainder of this season and the early part of next, but we will have the opportunity to welcome a better person and player when he returns. Managing director Ian Ayre added: "The charges against Luis were his to consider and we have to respect his decision to not appeal the 10-game ban. We are all disappointed at the severity of the punishment and in particular the differing standards that have been applied across various previous incidents. Luis is an important member of our team and nothing has changed in that regard. We are committed to helping him improve his conduct and he will be given our full support. We look forward to him returning to the team next season when he is available for selection. Today's decision not to appeal was announced in an FA statement that read: "Liverpool forward Luis Suarez has not appealed the suspension issued to him by an Independent Regulatory Commission this week. A three-person Independent Regulatory Commission upheld The FA's claim that a suspension of three matches was clearly insufficient and the player will now serve a further seven first-team matches in addition to the standard three. The suspension begins with immediate effect and applies to Liverpool FC's next ten domestic first-team fixtures. Some at Liverpool have criticised the decision to ban the striker for 10 matches, which will see him miss the rest of this season and a further six games at the start of the next - if he remains at Anfield. Speaking yesterday, manager Brendan Rodgers even said he would understand if Suarez considered quitting the Premier League and accused the men who banned him of "throwing him into the garbage." The Liverpool manager said he was "bitterly disappointed" by the punishment handed to the striker by the Football Association's independent panel. Meanwhile, team-mate Jose Reina called the ban "absurd, out of proportion and unfair" and Jamie Carragher claimed it was preferable to be bitten than have a leg broken by a bad tackle.