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A Football Association statement said: "An independent regulatory commission has today found a charge of misconduct against Luis Suárez proven, and have issued a suspension for a period of eight matches as well as fining him £40,000, pending appeal.
"On 16 November 2011, the Football Association charged Luis Suárez with misconduct contrary to FA Rule E3 in relation to the Liverpool FC versus Manchester United FC fixture on 15 October 2011.
"A hearing took place from 14-20 December 2011 before an independent regulatory commission of the FA to consider the charge.
"The independent regulatory commission announced its decision on 20 December 2011, which is as follows:
"Mr Suárez used insulting words towards Mr Evra during the match contrary to FA Rule E3(1);
"the insulting words used by Mr Suárez included a reference to Mr Evra's colour within the meaning of Rule E3(2);
"Mr Suárez shall be warned as to his future conduct, be suspended for eight matches covering all first-team competitive matches and fined the sum of £40,000;
"the [penalty] is suspended pending the outcome of any appeal lodged by Mr Suárez against this decision.
"The independent regulatory commission will provide written reasons for its decision in due course setting out:
(a) the findings of fact made by it;
(b) the reasons for its decision finding the charge proved; and
(c) the reasons for the penalty.
"Mr Suárez has the right to appeal the decision of the independent regulatory commission to an appeal board. An appeal must be lodged within 14 days of the date of the written reasons for the decision.
"The penalty is suspended until after the outcome of any appeal, or the time for appealing expires, or should Mr Suárez decide not to appeal. The reason for this is to ensure that the penalty does not take effect before any appeal so that Mr Suárez has an effective right of appeal.
The club then issued the following statement: "Liverpool Football Club is very surprised and disappointed with the decision of the Football Association commission to find Luis Suárez guilty of the charges against him.
"We look forward to the publication of the commission's judgment. We will study the detailed reasons of the commission once they become available, but reserve our right to appeal or take any other course of action we feel appropriate with regards to this situation.
"We find it extraordinary that Luis can be found guilty on the word of Patrice Evra alone when no one else on the field of play – including Evra's own Manchester United team-mates and all the match officials – heard the alleged conversation between the two players in a crowded Kop goalmouth while a corner-kick was about to be taken.
"The club takes extremely seriously the fight against all forms of discrimination and has a long and successful track record in work relating to anti-racist activity and social inclusion. We remain committed to this ideal and equality for all, irrespective of a person's background.
"LFC considers racism in any form to be unacceptable – without compromise. It is our strong held belief, having gone over the facts of the case, that Luis Suárez did not commit any racist act. It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible – certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations.
"It is key to note that Patrice Evra himself in his written statement in this case said: 'I don't think that Luis Suárez is racist'. The FA in their opening remarks accepted that Luis Suárez was not racist.
"Luis himself is of a mixed race family background as his grandfather was black. He has been personally involved since the 2010 World Cup in a charitable project which uses sport to encourage solidarity amongst people of different backgrounds with the central theme that the colour of a person's skin does not matter; they can all play together as a team.
"He has played with black players and mixed with their families whilst with the Uruguay national side and was captain at Ajax Amsterdam of a team with a proud multicultural profile, many of whom became good friends.
"It seems incredible to us that a player of mixed heritage should be accused and found guilty in the way he has based on the evidence presented. We do not recognise the way in which Luis Suárez has been characterised.
"It appears to us that the FA were determined to bring charges against Luis Suárez, even before interviewing him at the beginning of November. Nothing we have heard in the course of the hearing has changed our view that Luis Suárez is innocent of the charges brought against him and we will provide Luis with whatever support he now needs to clear his name.
"We would also like to know when the FA intend to charge Patrice Evra with making abusive remarks to an opponent after he admitted himself in his evidence to insulting Luis Suárez in Spanish in the most objectionable of terms. Luis, to his credit, actually told the FA he had not heard the insult."