By Andrew Warshaw in Belo Horizonte
June 25 – Uruguay’s Luis Suarez faces the possibility of a lengthy FIFA ban after bringing infamy to the World Cup with yet another biting storm that has once again cast a dark shadow over the brilliant but highly temperamental striker.
FIFA announced today that its disciplinary committee officially opened proceedings against Suarez following Tuesday’s match against Italy when he wrote his name into the tournament for all the wrong reasons by biting defender Giorgio Chiellini towards the end of Uruguay’s dramatic late win in Natal that knocked the Italians out.
If found guilty, Suarez could reportedly be banned for anything from two matches to two years. FIFA is compiling all evidence, which can include video recordings, by 5pm local time today. A decision will have to be taken before Saturday, when Uruguay plays Colombia in the round of 16 at Rio’s Maracana stadium.
FIFA’s disciplinary panel ”is responsible for sanctioning serious infringements which have escaped the match officials’ attention,” the governing body said in a statement.
”Any type of proof may be produced,” FIFA noted, including ”reports from referees, declarations from the parties and witnesses, material evidence, audio or video recordings.”
One minute before the decisive goal that sent Uruguay through the knockout stage, Suarez was caught by television cameras biting down on Chellaini’s shoulder, an incident not seen by Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez who took no action.
In a World Cup of dramatic comebacks and fairytale stories, Suarez’s conduct immediately dominated global attention. He didn’t confirm or deny biting Chiellini, but told Spanish tv: ”These are things that happen on the pitch, we were both in the area, he thrust his shoulder into me.”
The longest ban in World Cup history was eight games for Italy’s Mauro Tassotti for breaking Spain’s Luís Enrique’s nose in 1994 with an elbow. “It was ridiculous not to send Suárez off,” said a furious Chiellini who was even more incensed that Suarez reacted as if he was the victim. “It is clear, clear-cut. Then, there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn’t have done.
“Suárez is a sneak and he gets away with it because FIFA want their stars to play in the World Cup. I’d love to see if they have the courage to use video evidence against him. The referee saw the bite mark too but he did nothing about.”
Suarez has twice been banned before for biting – by Ajax and his current club Liverpool who are bound to be hugely concerned by this latest incident. Ironically, this past season he appeared to have become a reformed character, scoring 31 goals for Liverpool and earning England’s Footballer of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards.
FIFA referees chief Jim Boyce, who is also a Fifa vice-president, said the striker had only himself to blame. “I have watched the incident several times on television. There is no doubt Luis Suárez is a fantastic footballer but, once again, his actions have left him open to severe criticism,” said Boyce. “FIFA must investigate the incident seriously and take whatever disciplinary action deemed necessary.”
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