FIFA World Cup 2014: Luis Suarez may be suspended after biting Chiellini
Sinking his teeth into an opponent’s body has become a favourite pastime for Suarez
Rio de Janeiro: Luis Suarez is at it again. The Uruguayan has bitten off more than he can chew. Suarez faces stern action - most probably suspension from FIFA for biting Italian defender Georgio Chiellini during a Group D match at Natal on Tuesday. Uruguay qualified for the round of 16 at the expense of Italy following a 1-0 win but the South American country’s joy was tempered by the inexplicable action of Suarez.
Sinking his teeth into an opponent’s body has become a favourite pastime for Suarez who is one of the best forwards in the world today. This is the third time in four years the dashing Liverpool forward faces trial for his biting habit. He was banned for 10 matches in April 2013 for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during an EPL match. During his stint with Ajax, his ‘hunger’ on the field got him a seven-match suspension in 2011. But Suarez is in no mood to learn his lessons.
No contemporary player straddles the sublime and the ridiculous with the ease of Suarez. After scoring both the goals in Uruguay’s 2-1 win over England in the previous round, he has now grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Chiellini and Suarez tussled in an off-the ball incident before the Uruguayan clutched his mouth in apparent agony. But video and photographic evidence clearly demonstrated that Suarez was the culprit and not the victim. The Italian went to the referee and showed the bite marks on his shoulder.
Even though other Italian players didn’t have much time after the match to discuss the biting incident as they had been shocked by the Azzurri’s early exit from the tournament, Chiellini wasn’t ready to forgive Suarez. He told an Italian TV channel that FIFA should take action against Suarez on video evidence. “Suarez gets away with it because FIFA wants its stars to play in the World Cup. Let’s see if it has the courage to take action now. The referee saw the bite mark,” the Juventus defender was quoted as saying.
When Suarez is near, controversy isn’t far away. He had caused a stir in the previous World Cup by blatantly using his hands to stop a goal-bound header against Ghana in the last 16. In England he had served an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.
Even though his coach and team-mates in Brazil jumped to his defence, there is a strong case for FIFA to act against the repeat offender. Suarez perhaps knew the severity of his bite as he didn’t celebrate with the usual gusto after the final whistle. He must have had a premonition on the fallout.