FIFA Announce Suarez Bite Punishment

By Jack Linley

Following Tuesday’s World Cup group stage match between Uruguay and Italy, during which Luis Suarez bit Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder, FIFA have today announced his punishment. He and his lawyers had until 9 pm BST on Wednesday evening to respond to the charges issued by football’s governing body. The sentence was reached so quickly due to the high profile nature of the incident and the requirement to reach a decision before Uruguay’s next game in the World Cup.

Luis Suarez’s punishment is as follows:

• Banned for nine International matches, meaning that he will miss the rest of the World Cup, regardless of Uruguay’s progression, and several fixtures for his nation after that.
• Banned from all football activity for four months. This obviously encompasses the club sphere and so whether he remains at Liverpool or moves on to another side, he will be out of action until the end of October. This would include missing a significant portion of the start of any domestic campaign and the first three group matches of the UEFA Champions League. There is some speculation as to the extent of ‘all football activity’, but it is expected to mean that he cannot train with his team mates, attend a football stadium, or fully represent his club.
• Fined £65,000.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the extent of these bans affects his club future, possibly lowering his desirability still further.

Do you think FIFA have been too harsh on Suarez, or not harsh enough. Let us know by leaving a comment or by tweeting us @TBRfootball.