SUAREZ HANDED FOUR-MONTH BAN FOR BITE| Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been suspended from all football-related activity for four months for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. In addition, the Liverpool player, 27, has been banned for nine international matches, ruling him out of the rest of the 2014 Fifa World Cup. He will also miss the first nine games of the Premier League season. Uruguay say they will appeal, calling it an excessive decision for which there was not enough evidence. Uruguay Football Association president Wilmar Valdez added: I have seen more aggressive incidents recently. It is a severe punishment. I dont know exactly which arguments they used but it is a tough punishment for Suarez. The player has also been fined 100,000 Swiss francs (£65,680) for the incident, which occurred on Tuesday as Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 to finish second in group D and qualify for the last 16 in Brazil. The ban is the biggest in World Cup history, beating the eight games given to Italys Mauro Tassotti for elbowing Spains Luis Enrique in 1994. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch and, in particular, not at a Fifa World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field, Claudio Sulser, chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee, said in a statement. Suarez has now been found guilty of biting three opponents in his career and former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson felt the suspension should have been longer. Say my boy was about 11 or 12, how do you explain to your lad whos a football fan exactly what Luis Suarez keeps doing, he told BBC Sport. He is now a persistent offender and I thought actually the ban would have been much harsher. Suarez was banned for 10 games for biting Chelseas Branislav Ivanovic during a Premier League match in 2013 and was also suspended for seven games for biting PSV Eindhovens Otman Bakkal in 2010. Mexican referee Marco Rodriquez did not see Suarez bite Chiellini on the left shoulder, but Fifa ordered an inquiry after the match following protests by the Italian. Suarez had tried to dismiss the incident, telling Uruguayan television: These are just things that happen out on the pitch. It was just the two of us inside the area and he bumped into me with his shoulder. Suarezs first match back for Liverpool could be in round four of the Capital One Cup, should the Reds win their first game after entering the tournament in the third round, with matches due to take place in the week commencing 27 October. Suarez will have missed 32 games through four separate bans since arriving at Liverpool in 2011 Reds chief executive Ian Ayre said: Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the Fifa disciplinary committee report before making any further comment. Under the terms of the ban, Suarez cannot train with Liverpool and is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium during the period of his suspension. But Liverpool would not be prevented from selling the former Ajax player this summer should they decide to offload him to another club. He has already been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Barcelona. Liverpool matches Suarez will miss (Premier League unless stated) 16 August Liverpool v Southampton 23 August Man City v Liverpool 30 August Tottenham v Liverpool 13 September Liverpool v Aston Villa 16/17 September Champions League group match 20 September West Ham v Liverpool 23/24 September Capital One Cup third round match 27 September Liverpool v Everton 30 September/1 October Champions League group match 4 October Liverpool v West Brom 18 October QPR v Liverpool 21/22 October Champions League group match 25 October Liverpool v Hull (Assumed four-month period runs 26 Jun-26 Oct) Sponsor Adidas said it fully supports Fifas decision and will not use Suarez for any more marketing purposes during the World Cup. We will again be reminding him of the high standards we expect from our players, added the company. We will discuss all aspects of our future partnership directly with Suarez and his team.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 03:21:29 +0000
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