Suarez bite italian dfendr,is lucrudious 2 sty on th pitch nt sendn off...iz nt inguaral incidnt.THAPELO PEACH LAMENTD The lawyer of Luis Suarez feels his client is the victim of a European campaign that wants to see FIFA come down hard on the striker for his alleged bite on Giorgio Chiellini. Suarez, 27, appeared to bite the defender during Uruguays 1-0 World Cup Group D victory over Italy in Natal on Tuesday. FIFA has since announced it is investigating the incident and had asked for evidence, which can include video recordings, to be presented by 5 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Uruguayan officials were in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday evening to present their side of the case and expected a resolution to be made late Wednesday or Thursday. A decision must be published before Saturday, when Uruguay play Colombia in a round-of-16 match at the Maracana. It is expected that the Liverpool striker, who has twice been banned for biting an opponent before, will at least be suspended for the rest of the competition, while he faces a maximum 24-game or two-year ban if found guilty. Alejandro Balbi, however, believes that Suarez did little wrong, adding that such incidents should be left on the field and forgotten about after the game. Suarez helped Uruguay advance to the round of 16 at the expense of European powerhouses Italy and England, and Balbi blamed them for leading a manhunt against Suarez. Balbi, who is also a member of the Uruguayan Football Association board, is quoted as saying by Reuters: I dont think it is anything new, the issue with Suarez has already been seen in England and yesterday the Italians did the same thing. And they are the teams that were eliminated by Uruguay, in which Suarez played a major part. And then the other factors play in too, Luis opponents, against Uruguay in the World Cup, so in that sense we think because of the past, for everyone its that there is a fair case and that FIFA acts the same in all cases, he said. Uruguay federation boss Wilmar Valdez told Reuters that Suarez has experienced such accusations before while playing in England, where the daily media scrutiny can be intense. We know what Luis has gone through in that country on the one hand he has been really well received in Liverpool, where they love him, adore him, but in the rest of the country thats not the case and we know what happens to him. In any case, Luis is a tough guy with a really strong personality, that has helped him get out of some really tough situations, a football player who was able to be operated on 20 days before the World Cup, recuperate and then return to the field truly shows the great player and person that he is. Valdez also said that the proof against Suarez was not enough to warrant punishment. No, really, if FIFA act the way that it should, being objective, according to the proof that there is, he really should not be sanctioned, he said. Suarez has been suspended twice previously in his career for biting, but this is the first such incident with the national team, which falls under FIFAs jurisdiction rather than a domestic league. There is a possibility that they ban him, because there are precedents, but were convinced that it was an absolutely casual play, because if Chiellini can show a scratch on one shoulder, Suarez can show a bruised and almost shut eye, Balbi added. If every player starts showing the injuries he suffers and they open inquiries for them everything will be way too complicated in the future. Were going to use all the arguments possible so that Luis gets out in the best possible way. FIFA head of media Delia Fischer said earlier in the day that the disciplinary committees investigation into Suarez was still at the early stages and that the governing body could not give guidelines to the independent panel on any sanctions
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 06:55:10 +0000