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FIFA opens disciplinary inquiry into Suarez World Cup biting incident

Luis Suarez of Uruguay celebrates scoring his goal to make the score 2-1

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By CAITLIN MURRAY

It seems Uruguay’s Luis Suarez will not get away with his third biting incident.

FIFA has charged Suarez with biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during Tuesday’s final Group D match, in which Uruguay defeated Italy, 1-0, to qualify for the knockout stages.

FIFA announced early Wednesday that its disciplinary panel had opened an inquiry to determine whether Suarez was guilty of assaulting Chiellini. Evidence will be presented by 6 p.m. eastern time Wednesday. Uruguay’s next match — its first of the knockout round — is Saturday.

Suarez would serve a minimum suspension of two games if found guilty, but could face a ban of up to two years, according to FIFA’s rules.

In the 79th minute of a then-scoreless final group stage match between Uruguay and Italy, Suarez appeared to dig his head into Chiellini’s shoulder and bite him. Chiellini pulled down his shirt to show Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez bite marks, but it was largely ignored and no card was given.

Italy, who had been down 10-men to that point after a red card in the 59th, conceded a goal two minutes later and eventually lost, 1-0. The result meant Uruguay will advance out of the group with Costa Rica as Italy goes home.

Chiellini did not mince words in his post-game reaction, telling reporters: “Suarez is a sneak, and he gets away with it because FIFA wants their stars to play in the World Cup.”

Suarez denied any wrongdoing, reportedly saying: “I had contact with his shoulder, nothing more.”

The video and photographic evidence, however, seems to give credence to Chiellini’s version of events — not to mention that Suarez has twice before been handed several-game suspensions for biting opponents during play.

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What do you think of this news? What is an appropriate punishment for what Suarez did?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I get the fact that Suarez is so passionate about winning. He is one of my favorite players. That being said , WTF is wrong with him? Talent wise he is all that is right about the game. Mentally his is all that is wrong with it. Suarez you may have just screwed your team and knifed them in the back. You may have also screwed Liverpool depending on what discipline FIFA hands out! Way to go jackass!!

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  2. Too much money at stake for FIFA to ban Suarez for more than this WC. 3-4 Games tops. I’m not saying its right but this is soccer and money talks.

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    • FIFA kinda (choose one) (1) in the spotlight or (2) under the microscope due to all the shenanigans coming to light: global game fixing, Qatar bribery, Qatar labor conditions, and Brasil unrest. So there is political pressure to really show that they can follow their own rules when it comes to this stuff. The world is literally watching to see if their governing body have any teeth.

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    • Maybe Sepp Blatter can send him off to play in one of his” inter-planetary competitions” as punishment. Out of sight, out of mind?

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  3. When it comes to making a disciplinary decision, I think all of the FIFA executives deserve bonuses for their hard work.

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  4. So it seems to have escaped attention that Luis Suarez can now lay claim to have perpetrated the most notorious and outrageous acts of the last _two_ World Cups…

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  5. How do we know he didn’t clinch his teeth and just brush his jaw across the shoulder to just — excuse the expression — get under his skin? Then it’s more along the lines of a hand to the face and other routine transgressions that don’t get 2nd reviews after the game. Anyway, my petpeeve here is that we are indiscriminately picking and choosing what gets punished after the game is over. Like I said before, Dempsey is playing with a broken nose and the player responsible for that is still playing.

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    • Because the Dempsey incident is believed to be an accident. It was an unnatural motion but you cannot prove without a doubt that it was intentional the way Suarez’s incident was. The guy also doesn’t have the history that Suarez has of doing this exact thing.

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      • Do you know for a fact that “without a doubt” is the FIFA standard being applied here, or do you mean “without a doubt” in your mind?

        We don’t know “without a doubt” Suarez bit him, he may have simulated it (brushed his jaw across the shoulder) just to set Chiellini off. We all assume he did it based on pixelated replays from behind and side angles. Chiellini was rubbing his shoulder afterwards, who knows if he dug his fingers in to make teeth marks.

        You know how many old convictions have been overturned with the advent of DNA testing? How did all those people get wrongfully convicted? Because juries thought they knew what happened. And they’ve been wrong over and over again.

  6. Look at those chompers! They look like they can do some damage. No wonder why he’s constantly showing his teeth, to ward off anyone who’d dare to stop him.

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  7. Whatever they chews to do, FIFA needs to stop ruminating about this and act swiftly. This has generated munch bad publicity and has been a gnawing issue ever since his first two bite incidents.

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  8. Two year’s off is too lenient.

    That would have him out for the rest of the WC, Copa America but back right in time for the 2016 Copa Centarrio … Cant wait to boo him on his big return!

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  9. I don’t see biting as any more egregious than elbowing or punching. All are deliberate acts of violence. But this is the third offense, and that’s the reason Suarez deserves a lengthy ban. Clearly, the previous bans of 7 and 10 matches were insufficient. So, he’ll need something bigger this time.

    Question: if FIFA sanctions him and hands down an X match ban, would this apply to all competitions? Would it also prevent him from playing his his club?

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    • You are right Toe Ball – it is not more egregious.

      Instead of biting, what if he punched Chiellini – in an off the ball incident – like this was – and it was his third time punching a player? We would be calling for significant punishment as a result.

      I think this is the same thing. Its just weird because it is biting.

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      • I’m with you guys about how it could be just another violent conduct incident, but the biting bothers me. If he breaks the skin, then we’re talking about sharing blood and/or saliva. Now that he’s bitten 3 players, how does the next player know for sure that one of the other players/victims (or Suarez himself) didn’t have some contagious disease? I certainly wouldn’t want to risk that if I were a defender going up against this guy.

    • Just looking quickly at the rules between meetings, it appears it’s suspension of playing “for the representative team”, which means international matches by Uruguay. There may still be FA action or club (Liverpool) action available . I dont have the Pool contract handy, but it may have a “morals” clause that could trigger some sort of action. Fines appear to be appropriate too, as that would bite.

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    • For most civilized people, biting is far worse than a punch. Biting is something most people learn by the time they are 3 or 4 years old not to do–period.

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      • How does this compare to a Hockey fight? Is it worse? Do hockey fighters get a 2 minute penalty for this? Not sure. Funny to compare the punishments of different sports. You have manly sport where a fight results in a 2 minute penalty and a bite that can result in a 20 match ban. Classic stuff on earth. I’m not saying its right or wrong, just sayin. Funny. Give him a ban for the rest of the WC and another 15 games and have him pay a fine/donation(100,000eur) to a children non-profit organization of Chiellinis choosing. Then Fifa, Saurez and Cheillini can go rub their tits again.

      • When bertuzzi attacked Steve Moore he was suspended for 17 months and faced criminal charges in Colorado and Canada. He is also set for trial from Steve Moore’s civil suit and my guess is there will be a 7 figure jury verdict against him.

      • An Uruguayan, who resides and is primarily employed in Great Britain, bites an Italian during a soccer match in Brazil governed by a Swiss organization . . . Where does the Italian plaintiff file his lawsuit?

    • My understanding is that FIFA essentially have two options (or some combination) for banning:

      1) Ban him for a certain number of international matches, up to 24.
      2) Ban him for a certain length of time, up to 2 years.

      Within category 2, the ban could be either a ban from FIFA international competitions (i.e. He can’t play for Uruguay), or could be a worldwide ban from all soccer activities. The latter would mean he can’t play for Liverpool or any other team within a FIFA-approved league. So he could probably play in a local rec league but that’d be it.

      I’m guessing they’ll discuss the matter with the FA before issuing a worldwide ban. I’m guessing the FA will support a worldwide ban if that’s the direction FIFA wants to go.

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  10. Two years is too lenient. But, if that is the maximum, that is what he needs to get.

    At the very least, it needs to be more than the last suspension. Two games would be a joke.

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  11. Why isn’t the Ghana player who kicked and broke Dempsey’s nose getting investigated??? He clearly did that on purpose!!

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  12. This is why you don’t dive kids. Had Chiellini not been looking for calls without contact earlier the ref probably would have taken his protests much more seriously. That said this is the third strike for Suarez, he needs the full two year ban.

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  13. Wonder if he has some mental issues? I understand players throwing elbows or other cheap shots they try to get away with. However, Suarez doesn’t get away with these bites. He gets caught and serves long suspension. It doesn’t serve any purpose.

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  14. I’m fine with allowing Suarez to keep on playing, they just need to put one of those Hanibal Lector bitey masks on him while he’s on the field.

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    • as comical as this is, that would probably be a more effective punishment, since banning him doesnt work. Humiliate the crap out of him in front of millions!

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  15. I love watching Suarez play, but somebody — Chiellini or Ivanovich — needs to knock those big front teeth down his throat. Then he’d stop biting players.

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      • but then again, the actual FIFA language says “disciplinary proceedings have been opened,” which seems more along the lines of “charging” than the “investigating” most sites/articles use.

      • At least in the US, you need to be charged before convicted. The charge puts the accused on notice of his crimes, which must then be proved in a court proceeding to be convicted. Thus, I think the title is accurate.

      • Not sure what you mean by “what’s the story”. It has long been noted that he looks like the Mexican cartoon character Chiquidracula (“Little Dracula”), if you’re just talking about his appearance…

      • you are not yet familiar with Rodriguez? he’s sucked the blood out of the US on more than one occasion.

        on the other hand, that was not an easy game to officiate imo, so much BS going on from both teams. Italy are the masters of that stuff

      • He usually has his hair longer and slicked back for a fuller effect. He must have cut his hair shorter for Brazil.

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