Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish feels Luis Suarez deserves greater protection from referees.

There are now fears within Anfield that the Kop idol does not get the protection he deserves from referees.

He claimed: "I think kicks are part and parcel of the game of football, especially the style of play he has got as he goes and commits you.

"If he is faster than you, you can be making a legitimate challenge for the ball but you catch him.

"That is fine - he just has to put up with that. But every player needs some form of protection and we don't expect any to be treated any differently from any other person.

"But then he should not be suffering either because somebody comes out and makes an outrageous statement that maybe influences referees.

"He just wants to be treated exactly the same as every one of our players. He doesn't want any favours or to be pre-judged either. The wee man just stands up and gets on with it.

"He accepts he is going to get kicked and it doesn't worry him one bit.

"In every game, you don't get every decision you think you should. But if you don't, play on. If nothing is given, play on.

"And it is wrong for anybody to have preconceived ideas about what is going to happen on a football pitch - ourselves included.

"It's hard enough for refs anyway but they need to referee what happens on that day, not what has happened six months before."