UK Prime Minister David Cameron insists Luis Suarez's punishment for biting is a matter for the Football Association - and that his own intervention in the matter was merely that of a concerned father.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers reacted angrily to his star striker's 10-match ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, claiming that remarks from both the FA and Cameron had affected the impartiality of the independent panel hearing his case.
The FA stated the standard three-match ban for violent conduct was "clearly insufficient" in Suarez's case when announcing he had been charged on Monday, while Cameron said earlier this week: "I think it would be very understandable if (the panel) took into account the fact that high-profile players are often role models."
The Prime Minister told BBC Radio Five Live on Friday morning: "I made my own views clear just as a dad watching the game.
"I've got a seven-year-old son who just loves watching football and when players behave like this it just sets the most appalling example to young people in our country."
Pressed on whether a 10-match ban was appropriate for the offence, he added: "That's up to the FA, it's not my decision.
"The FA make the decision, they're entirely independent and that is the way it should work.
"I'm going to leave it entirely to the FA. But if you're asking me as a dad and as a human being, do I think we should have tough penalties when players behave like this, yes I think we should.
"There are people, I've read in some newspapers, who think somehow this isn't serious. I think it is serious, when we're trying to bring up our children properly, they do see football players as role models.
"Bringing up children is one of the toughest things we do but you can't wrap them in cotton wool and hide them away from the world, they do see these real-life examples and they repeat them back to you."
