Uruguay striker Luis Suárez made international headlines when he accidentally-on-purpose bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil’s decisive group match between Uruguay and Italy. After which, the football’s world governing body, FIFA, imposed a ban on the 27-year-old Luis Suárez, preventing him from playing 9 Uruguay matches and four months’ worth of football, including domestic Premier League games for Liverpool.
He was also slapped with a hefty fine of £66,000.
The severe ban was of course stemmed from the fact that it was not the first time the player had been involved in a biting incident. Suárez has received bans for biting opponents while playing for Ajax and Liverpool. It’s as though this whole biting thing is his personal little strange ritual.
But, he is now claiming in his defence to FIFA that it was not deliberate and that he simply “lost his balance” and “fell onto” the Italian player..with his teeth. In a letter dated 25th June, he wrote to FIFA’s disciplinary panel saying:
In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite. After the impact, I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. At that moment I hit my face against the player, leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth.
However, a seven-man Fifa panel, having studied the incident from 34 camera angles, promptly dismissed Suárez’s argument. The bite was deliberate, intentional and without provocation. “He bit the player with the intention of wounding him or at least of destabilising him. At no time did the player show any kind of remorse or admit to any violation of Fifa rules and therefore showed no awareness of having committed any infraction”, the ruling read.
Nice try, Suárez. Better luck next time if you want to use the “my dog ate my homework” excuse. Besides, FIFA has time and time again proved that they’ve no qualms banning your ass regardless of who you are, how good you are, or how popular you are.
UPDATE:
Suarez has posted a formal-yet-not-so-formal apology to Chiellini via his Twitter account following the impending doom of FIFA imposing a ban upon him. In his post, he admitted that Chiellini had “suffered the physical results of a bite” etc, etc:
To which Chiellini replied (also via Twitter, by the way), “It’s all forgotten. I hope FIFA will reduce your suspension.”
Meanwhile, here are some funniest memes that have been heavily circulated on the interwebs since the biting incident. In moments like these, it’s hard to not want to laugh:
So, which one is your fave? Got any more that you’d like to add to the gallery? Are there any other funniest 2014 World Cup in Brazil moments that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!
