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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. Owen Gibson
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.” Recife
Suarez added: “after the impact ... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. Luis Suárez, the Uruguayan striker banned for four months for biting Giorgio Chiellini, claimed in his defence to Fifa that the shocking act was not deliberate and he simply lost his balance and fell on to the Italian player with his 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.” In a defence that makes the proverbial “dog ate my homework” look plausible, Suárez wrote in a letter to the Fifa disciplinary panel chaired by Claudio Sulser that the incident was an accident.
However, the seven-man panel wrote that the bite was “deliberate, intentional and without provocation.” “In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite,” the Liverpool striker, dogged by controversy throughout his career, wrote in Spanish in a letter dated 25 June.
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. “After the impact ... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent,” Suárez wrote in his submission to the panel which met on Wednesday, a day after Uruguay had beaten Italy 1-0 in a decisive group-stage match.
“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. “At that moment I hit my face against the player leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth,” Suárez said.
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. The player could be seen holding his teeth following the clash with Chiellini but the seven-strong panel dismissed Suárez’s argument after studying the incident from 34 camera angles.
“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.” The bite was “deliberate, intentional and without provocation,” the ruling stated in paragraph 26 of the panel’s conclusions.
Suárez was banned for nine Uruguay matches and four months from all football, including domestic Premier League games for Liverpool. He was also fined £66,000. The Uruguay football federation have announced that they will appeal against the ruling and will now have a further seven days to prepare the paperwork for the appeal.
The panel, chaired by the former Switzerland international Sulser, included members from the Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Panama, South Africa and Singapore.
Fifa’s ruling confirmed that the referee, Marco Rodríguez of Mexico, 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,” Rodríguez wrote in paragraph four of witness submissions in the 11-page document.
The unprecedented ban was more severe because it was not the first time the player had been involved in a biting incident, Fifa confirmed on Friday.
Suárez, who is now back in Uruguay where he met with country’s president and waved to supportive fans from his balcony, was also banned for biting opponents while playing for Ajax and Liverpool.
The player has received backing from his coach, Oscar Tabáraz, who claimed that Suárez was being made a “scapegoat” and that the “excessive” ban had been motivated by a media driven campaign.
In a radio address, the Uruguayan president José Mujica said: “The disciplinary measures against Suárez were a monstrous aggression, not just against a man, but also against a country”.
But Fifa has insisted that the penalty was justified, partly because of Suárez’s previous record and partly because the incident set a bad example to those watching the World Cup around the world.
“I think he should find a way to stop doing it,” said the Fifa secretary general Jérôme Valcke. “He should go through a treatment. I don’t know if one exists but he should do something for himself because it is definitely wrong.”
Suárez’s Liverpool future remains up in the air, with Barcelona interested in offering him an escape route. The Anfield club, which has said it will study Fifa’s full findings before making its next move, is determined that he won’t be sold on the cheap. Suárez is believed to have a release clause of around £80m in his new contract.
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.”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/2uo0LXaqs2Hola 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. 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.