Uruguay’s Luis Suarez punished for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini
Uruguay's Luis Suarez walks with his hands on his head (Photo: AP)
Rio de Janeiro: Luis Suarez’s World Cup is over after Fifa handed him a nine-match suspension on Thursday, starting with Uruguay’s pre-quarterfinal against Colombia here on Saturday, for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during a group match. The Uruguayan forward has also been banned from any football-related activity for four months.
The decision of Fifa’s disciplinary committee is a body blow to the hopes of Uruguay, the winners of the World Cup when it was last staged in Brazil 64 years ago. But there was no surprise in the verdict as Suarez had dug his own grave by unleashing his teeth on Chiellini in the full glare of TV cameras. Suarez was found to have breached a disciplinary code concerning unsporting behaviour towards another player, Fifa said in a statement.
In the unlikely event of Uruguay’s progress to the final, Suarez will miss four matches here and he will have to sit out of another five matches of Uruguay after the World Cup. He will not be able to cheer Uruguay from the stands while serving out his suspension as he is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium in which his country is playing.
“Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a Fifa World Cup. The disciplinary committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Suarez’s guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the code,” said Claudio Sulser, chairman of the disciplinary committee of Fifa.
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