Rio de Janeiro: Shamed Uruguayan star Luis Suarez insisted he lost his balance and did not bite Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, according to a Fifa report on the assault which led to him being expelled from the World Cup.
But the Fifa disciplinary commission which banned 27-year-old Suarez from all football for four months said in a report that he had acted “intentionally and without provocation.” Suarez’s statement to the commission, which was included in their report, said: “I lost my balance and ended up falling on my opponent (Chiellini)”.
“At that moment, my face hit the player (Chiellini) leaving a small bruise and sharp pain in the teeth.” He added: “In no case what has been described as a bite or attempting to bite happened.” Television images of the incident in last Tuesday’s Group D game in which Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 showed clear bite marks in Chiellini’s shoulder. Suarez has served two previous bans for biting.
Luis not blamed for Uruguay’s exit
Dejected but defiant, and still defending Luis Suarez. Uruguay’s support of the banned, biting striker was steadfast on Saturday even as the team was toothless in his absence and went out of the World Cup with a 0-2 loss to Colombia.
Among the Uruguay fans in the stands, in the team dressing room and in the dugout, Suarez’s global pariah status is still mystifying. To them, the 27-year-old player is not a pariah but a footballing hero, even if the bite on an opponent will prevent him representing the national team in competitive games for more than a year.
“People have been after him for a long time,” Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez said in the Maracana, echoing recent attacks on a perceived Fifa and English-language media campaign against Suarez.
World football’s governing body acted swiftly after the bite on Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during Tuesday’s Group D finale, banning Suarez for four months, disrupting his Liverpool career, as well as nine international matches.
“It is an outrage,” veteran defender Diego Lugano said. “It is a violation of human rights which is far beyond winning or losing a football game.”
