Luis Suarez admits misconduct charge after gesture

Suarez raised the middle finger on his left hand as he left the pitch

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has been suspended for one match, fined £20,000 and warned as to his future conduct after admitting a Football Association charge of improper conduct.

The 24-year-old Uruguayan international will miss Friday's Premier League game against Newcastle United at Anfield as a result.

Suarez, recently given an eight-game ban for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, was charged for an abusive hand gesture following the 1-0 defeat at Fulham on 5 December.

He raised the middle finger of his left hand as he walked off the pitch.

Liverpool have also been fined £20,000 for failing to control their players in the same match.

Several Liverpool players remonstrated with referee Keith Friend when Reds midfielder Jay Spearing was sent off during the game.

The club admitted the charge of failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion but contested the financial penalty.

However, an independent regulatory commission ruled the £20,000 punishment was applicable.

Liverpool said they had no comment to make on either Suarez's ban or the imposition of a fine on the club.

As it stands, Suarez, a £22.8m signing from Dutch side Ajax in January 2011, will miss almost a quarter of the league season because of the two suspensions.

The player's lawyer says Suarez intends to appeal against the eight-match ban for racially abusing Evra but Liverpool have yet to decide what action to take.

They say they will wait to receive the full written report from the independent commission.

However, they have repeatedly backed Suarez in public, a move which has attracted criticism from a number of black footballers.