Branislav Ivanovic has not accepted the apology from Luis Suarez

Branislav Ivanovic has not accepted the apology from Luis Suarez over the biting incident and it has also emerged that the Metropolitan police asked to examine the Chelsea defender’s arm.

Suarez, the Liverpool striker, who grabbed his opponent before biting his arm during the 2-2 draw at Anfield on Sunday, tweeted that he had spoken to Ivanovic on the phone to apologise. “Thanks for accepting,” the Uruguayan wrote. But it is understood that while Ivanovic appreciated the call he stopped short of accepting the apology.

Ivanovic’s team-mate Petr Cech said that the Serb was “not happy at all” and there remains an element of shock at Chelsea. Cech was frustrated by what he felt was Suarez’s niggling approach.

“I was not happy because he is always pushing people around to make space for himself,” the goalkeeper said. “He does it all the time, little fouls and pushes.”

Yet Chelsea seemed angrier about Suarez's 97th-minute equaliser and not only because he ought not to have been on the pitch to score it. They accept that officials cannot see every incident clearly but the amount of injury time vexed the interim manager Rafael Benitez and his players.

Injury time

The fourth official had signalled for a minimum of six minutes, with Suarez’s goal happening at six minutes and 34 seconds. “The referee is on the pitch to decide how much extra time there is . . . it’s unusual to have six minutes,” Cech said. “I have to say that I have been a Chelsea player since 2004 and I have never had six minutes in my favour when I was losing. Obviously, you look at this and say: ‘Why does this happen when I play away?’ This is the referee’s choice, it’s his job to look for the extra time. We conceded in the last second and we have to do better next time.”

Ivanovic was checked for injuries after the game – there were none – and the Met police officer who visited the club’s training ground also looked for bite marks or bruises. He too saw nothing. The officer, acting with the police on Merseyside, asked Ivanovic whether he wanted to press charges. He did not. Chelsea have begun to look forward to Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first-leg at Basel.

“We had a disappointing end at Liverpool but we have a massive game coming up,” Cech said.

Mark Clattenburg will referee Chelsea’s match against Swansea on Sunday, his first involving the side since he was accused of using “inappropriate language” towards Mikel John Obi. Clattenburg was cleared by the English FA.

Guardian Service