Exclusive - Ray Houghton backs Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers over 'dive cheat' Luis Suarez

Ray Houghton has backed Brendan Rodgers’ stance over dive cheat Luis Suarez.

The Liverpool striker admitted earlier this week that he went to ground in a bid to win a penalty against Stoke, and that admission was later condemned by the Anfield chief.

And former Reds’ midfield favourite Houghton insists the Irishman was absolutely right to criticise his star striker.

Houghton told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast: “Rodgers has to deal with this. It’s down to the managers to come out and say ‘there’s a way you’ve got to behave at a football club and if you’re diving around it doesn’t represent the club that well’ and Brendan has done the right thing. He’ll deal with it internally and I’m sure he’ll get a fine.

“But should it be just down to the clubs, or should it be down to the FA? We don’t want to see matches won by cheating, and we’ve seen that a few times this season. Look at Villa v Southampton and the boy Rodriguez. I’m sure he’s a nice lad but he went down easily, there was no touch and he gets a penalty and Southampton win 1-0.

“I’ve got a lot of time for Nigel Adkins but I was disappointed he didn’t condemn his player and say he won’t do that again. Instead, he says we could have had six penalties this season that we didn’t get. And you think, ‘this is wrong’.

“This is where football is going and there’s a tipping point for everyone. I don’t want to see any more diving, I don’t want to see any more rugby tackles in the box, so FA, deal with it.

“Give the powers to the referee to send people off and we’ll get a few games of 9 v 8 for a few weeks, and that will get rid of it.

“Or retrospectively, after the games on a Monday or Tuesday, give them three games [for cheating], if they do it again five games and then ten games. I tell you what, managers will soon stop it. But you have to deter players from doing it.”