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FIFA rejects appeal, Suarez suspension stands

Luis Suarez of Uruguay

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By DAN KARELL

Luis Suarez’s hopes of playing soccer anytime soon have been dashed.

FIFA stood firm on Thursday, rejecting the Uruguayan FA and Suarez’s appeal for his fine and suspension to be reduced or dismissed. FIFA fined Suarez 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000) and banned him from nine international matches and four months away from all soccer activities for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

“The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by both the Uruguayan player Luis Suárez and the Uruguayan FA, and to confirm the decision rendered by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 25 June 2014 in its entirety,” a FIFA statement read. “The terms of the decision taken by the FIFA Appeal Committee were communicated to the player and the Uruguayan FA today.”

Both the Uruguayan FA and Suarez have the option of appealing to the Court of Arbitration and Sport, though it’s only under certain conditions. In the meantime, Suarez’s ban will continue.

Although he is banned, Suarez is allowed to complete a transfer move and take a medical, and multiple reports in Spain claim that the Uruguayan star is close to making a big-money move to Barcelona FC.

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What do you think of this news? Did you expect FIFA to reject the appeal? Think it’s too harsh?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I’ll say it again, if UFC (MMA) which is violent fighting doesn’t allow genital grabbing, eye poking and biting then the beautiful game (and all other sports) should not allow it.

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  2. It’s official, Arsenal just did their part to help Liverpool ship Suarez away from EPL I am sure they paid serious coin for Sanchez, but it’s win win win win for Arsenal, Liverpool, EPL and Sanchez. http://www.arsenal.com/home For Barca and Spanish Liga defenders, not so much. I cry like a teenybopper at a 1D concert when I think of how many assists from Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshere, Walcott, etc this guy will clinically put away.

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    • The sanchez signing is huge for Arsenal and the Camp Nou brain trust is placing the Barca brand at great risk by signing Suarez. They’ll still have Messi and Neymar but their problem wasn’t so much in the attack as it was at the back. Instead they may alienate certains parts of the globe that would come to their friendlies and buy their swag all for Suarez. Hell the may alienate some of their own fan base.

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  3. More unfairness less commercial appealing countries, while savages like Rafa Marquez continue. Not way that causes serious injury like De Jong violence or Marquez continuing like act savage every WorldCup (2002-2014).

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    • Biting someone is pretty savage, not to mention completely childish.

      Suarez is one of the most talented players in the world, but he continues to ruin his career with inexplicable moments of madness. After biting someone for the third time in a professional game, he deserves whatever punishment he gets.

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  4. Pathetic, what about the guy who broke neymars back. If my son gets bitten in a local soccer league, the parents will look bad and he will be the joke of the league, but if someone breaks my sons back with a knee to the back, I will be going crazy.

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    • We all have different viewpoints. As a youth I broke my foot and tore my ACL/ dislocated my kneecap on horrible challenges (separate times)… part of the game. Now if some kid bite me I would have freaked out.

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    • Neymar was injured on a soccer play. It happens and is part and parcel of the game.

      What Suarez did was not part of the game. That’s the difference.

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      • How is kneeing someone in the back is part of the game? Where does it say so? What makes it a soccer play?

      • He didn’t just run up and knee him in the back. It was a challenge for the ball. That’s what makes it a “soccer play”. The injury occurred in the natural flow of the game.

        Suarez just turned around and bit the nearest Italian. No relation to the game whatsoever.

  5. I agree with Suarez’s punishment. However, it’s appalling that if instead of biting, which didn’t cause Chiellini to miss any playing time, Suarez launched into some wild, horrific tackle that would’ve broken Chiellini’s leg and possibly ended his career, Suzarez would’ve got a much less severe punishment, if any at all!

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    • Had Suarez launched into some wild horrific tackle with the ball 20 yards away (as in the biting case), he absolutely would have been punished in similar fashion.

      That being said, had he bit him while playing a ball, he probably still would have been in a lot of trouble, but still….

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      • So, are you saying that biting a player with the ball is more or less okay? And it wasn’t the biting per se, but biting the player without the ball that was Suarez’s most egregious offense?

    • Tackling, however reckless, is part of the game. I snapped through both bones AND my shinguard because of a goalkeeper’s tackle. I don’t blame the keeper. Sure it was stupid, but that’s the game. Stuff happens.

      In NASCAR cars hit each other and wreck; in football tackles hurt people all the time; in baseball they hit each other with the ball; hockey has fist fights. Those are part of the game. They’re all punishable, just like reckless tackles are.

      But biting is not part of any of those cultures. Biting is not part of any sport or activity or society (outside of cannibalism). Biting is sharing saliva with another man which means potential diseases are shared; it’s animalistic; and it’s degrading.

      Tackle me all you want in a game. Use your teeth to break my skin and we have a problem.

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      • It’s so weird that some can’t figure out the difference between being injured as part of the game and assault that happens during the game.

      • Well said. LFC fan here that, while surely missing Suarez’s production, is glad we are transferring him. He is a disgrace, and hope he gets treatment at Barca.

        Back to tackling… Curious about a case like Nigel de Jong, who broke two players’ leg(s) and karate kicked an opponent in the 2010 WC. Did he get banned at some point for cumulative, severe/nasty, infractions; should he have been (during that period)?

      • No there are vicious tackles and karate kicks that are not a part of the game. Brian Mullan’s tackle on Steve Kakuani was him retaliating against the next player he saw. There was no intent other than to take out his anger on another player. Suarez biting is no different. If I were Zakuani I would have much rather been bit.

    • I love how they say he’s banned from “all football/soccer related activities” yet they allow him to train with Liverpool. Double standards?

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    • American people and europeans just cannot stand the idea that people from smaller countries like the brilliant Suarez, are more talented and skilled then they are. we as small countries might not have much, but in the biggest sport we have all the glory and all the talent and we make the european leagues and champions league look better. For you people, latin american skill and brilliant pick pocketing are like a zit in a@# that you just cannot stand and never will but you gotta understand we enjoy more than anything doing this to you like the hand of god etc. thats why most of the SBI readers talk like this against people like Suarez, Maradona and geniuses like this….because with all their flaws are still bigger than ALi and Jordan to the world…thats just the way it is….live with it.. and leave us alone!! nobody picks on Mike tyson who bites the ear out of I forget who…. nobody talks about Roy Keane’s murderous tackles that could have ended players careers….but hey lets pick on Suarez cause we cant stand him . you are all cynical and hypocrites . so viva Maradona , viva luisito Suarez (hope you come back better than ever). viva latin america , viva Argentina, viva Chile, viva the commander Che Guevara …

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      • Looks to me like you are just looking for an argument. No where did the OP say anything referring to what you are talking about. Settle down.

        As for Suarez, I feel he shouldve been banned longer for international play, but with no repercussions for his club team. Just my opinion

      • So…… where does Germany’s drubbing of Brazil fall into Latin American superiority that you claim? Another conspiracy?

      • I literally laughed out loud reading this comedy act of yours. Small countries and/or Latin countries are not significantly important that they dominate our thoughts. The only issue here is a repeat offender with obvious mental problems that should not be playing soccer for a longer period of time than the slap on the wrist he received. You should be embarrassed by this behavior not try to defend it. I wonder if you will be back here on Wednesday when Germany treats Argentina like a rented mule.

      • Yeah, we’re picking on Suarez because of a seering hatred of Latin America and Che Guevara.

        Sometimes football is just football, jeez.

        In the meantime I am going to watch a video of Suarez’s greatest plays…but it’s a small video. Only 3 Mega Bites.

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