BITER IN WORLD CUP BANNED FOR 9 GAMES

RECIFE, Brazil — Luis Suárez, the enigmatic striker from Uruguay who has starred for Liverpool in England’s Premier League, was suspended for nine games and barred from all soccer-related activities for four months Thursday after FIFA’s disciplinary committee determined that he bit an opponent during Uruguay’s 1-0 World Cup victory over Italy.
Suárez, who had previously been suspended twice for biting opponents, was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs, or about $112,000.
FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, announced the punishment at its daily World Cup briefing in Rio de Janeiro, taking quick action in response to Tuesday’s incident. Suárez’s ban is the longest World Cup suspension issued for an on-field action, surpassing the eight games Mauro Tassotti of Italy received for elbowing an opponent in 1994, and will begin immediately.
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If Suárez appeals the decision, the appeal will only delay his payment of the fine, FIFA said; it will not delay his suspension. So Uruguay, which faces Colombia in a Round of 16 match on Saturday in Rio, will be without its top player for the rest of the tournament and beyond.
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Uruguay striker Luis Suárez was suspended by FIFA for his altercation with Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. Credit Daniel Garcia/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Liverpool, the popular Merseyside club that finished second in the Premier League last season behind 31 goals from Suárez, will not have him available until the end of October unless his penalty is reduced on appeal. According to next season’s calendar, Suárez will miss nine Premier League games, three Champions League matches and one match in the League Cup. He will also miss Liverpool’s summer tour of the United States, which includes exhibition games in Charlotte, N.C.; New York; Chicago; and Boston.
The suspension does not cover a possible transfer — Suárez has been rumored to be considering a move to Spain — meaning Suárez could switch clubs during the summer transfer period.
Extending the ban to cover all soccer activities, including participation with a club team, was an unusual decision by FIFA, but it showed the organization’s contempt for Suárez’s actions and possibly for the earlier incidents.
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An American fan in Rio de Janeiro took a picture of himself next to an advertisement featuring Luis Suárez on Thursday. Credit Matt Dunham/Associated Press
“Such behavior cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field,” Claudio Sulser, the chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee, said in a statement.
The incident took place near the end of a match in which Uruguay and Italy struggled to generate attacking chances. Ten minutes before the end of the game, with the score tied, 0-0, Suárez ran into the penalty area and collided with Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. Suárez appeared to drop his face into Chiellini’s shoulder, and Chiellini immediately recoiled as both players fell to the ground.
Chiellini pulled his shirt collar to the side and tried to show the referee bite marks on his shoulder while Suárez rolled on the ground, seemingly feigning a painful injury to his mouth.
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2014 World Cup
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