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| Luis Suárez bite defence: I lost balance and hit my face against Chiellini | Luis Suárez bite defence: I lost balance and hit my face against Chiellini |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Luis Suárez has claimed to Fifa’s disciplinary panel that he did not deliberately bite the Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup, instead claiming he lost balance and accidentally hit his face against the player. Uruguay have announced that they will appeal against his subsequent ban. | |
| The Uruguay striker wrote in the defence he submitted to Fifa that “in no way [did] it happen how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite.” | The Uruguay striker wrote in the defence he submitted to Fifa that “in no way [did] it happen how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite.” |
| Suarez added: “after the impact ... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. | Suarez added: “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.” | “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, the seven-man panel wrote that the bite was “deliberate, intentional and without provocation.” | However, the seven-man panel wrote that the bite was “deliberate, intentional and without provocation.” |
| Suárez was banned for nine Uruguay matches and for four months from all football. The panel, chaired by the former Switzerland international Claudio Sulser, included members from the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Panama, South Africa and Singapore. The ruling confirmed that the referee, Mexico’s Marco Rodríguez, acknowledged in his match report that he missed Suárez’s bite. So did his two assistants and the fourth official. | Suárez was banned for nine Uruguay matches and for four months from all football. The panel, chaired by the former Switzerland international Claudio Sulser, included members from the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Panama, South Africa and Singapore. The ruling confirmed that the referee, Mexico’s Marco Rodríguez, acknowledged in his match report that he missed Suárez’s bite. So did his two assistants and the fourth official. |
| “I haven’t seen the incident because the ball was in another sector of the pitch,” Rodriguez wrote in the witness submissions in the 11-page document. | “I haven’t seen the incident because the ball was in another sector of the pitch,” Rodriguez wrote in the witness submissions in the 11-page document. |
| Uruguay have formally informed Fifa that they are appealing against Suárez’s ban. The Uruguay football federation will now have a further seven days to prepare the paperwork for the appeal. | |
| “We have received a declaration that they are planning to appeal. They informed us of their intention to appeal yesterday evening,” said Fifa. “The reasons for the appeal must now be given in writing within a deadline of seven days after the three days has expired.” | |
| Suárez has received plenty of backing from within Latin America and tweeted on Saturday to acknowledge the support. “Hi all, I write this post to give thanks to the outpouring of support and love I am receiving. Both myself and my family really appreciate it. Thank you very much for being by my side and I want all my colleagues today we support selection for the match against Colombia.” | |
| Hola a todos, escribo este mensaje para dar las gracias a todas las muestras de apoyo y cariño que estoy (cont) http://t.co/2uo0LXaqs2 | |
| The Uruguay coach, Oscar Tabárez has accused Fifa of making Suárez a scapegoat, while the former Argentina player Diego Maradona has likened the ban to sending the player to ‘Guantánamo’. Suárez’s former club manager, Kenny Dalglish, has called for Liverpool to help the striker to control his emotions. |