Luis Suarez 'bite': Uruguay striker faces lengthy ban if found guilty

 

Uruguay's Luis Suarez faces a lengthy ban that would force him to miss the rest of the World Cup if found guilty of biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini. 

Fifa, football's governing body, has opened disciplinary proceedings against the striker following Uruguay's 1-0 group win on Tuesday.

Chiellini claimed Suarez bit him on the left shoulder, but Suarez said the defender "bumped" into him.

Suarez, 27, could be banned for up to 24 matches or two years.

Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez took no action following the incident, but Fifa can still punish Suarez.

Radio 5 live's Richard Conway, who is in Brazil to report on the World Cup, said: "Fifa will want to deal with this quickly so attention can once again return to matters on the pitch.

"Given that spitting at an opponent carries a minimum tariff of six games, you would expect biting to carry a ban in excess of that.

"That gives you the benchmark many people are working on and would mean his World Cup would be over."

Former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby expects Suarez to be banned for the rest of tournament.

The Dane told the Liverpool Echo  newspaper: "I'm sure Fifa will make an example out of him. Obviously, his World Cup is over and I would expect Fifa to give him a long international ban."

The longest ban in World Cup history is eight games, handed out in 1994 to Italy defender Mauro Tassotti for breaking Spain's Luis Enrique's nose with his elbow during the second half of their quarter-final.

Uruguay face Colombia in the last 16 on Saturday after finishing second in Group D behind Costa Rica.

Suarez and the Uruguayan Football Association have until 21:00 BST on Wednesday to respond to Fifa.

Suarez's actions have already received widespread condemnation.
 
Last season, he helped Liverpool to a second-placed finish in the Premier League, winning the Golden Boot with 31 goals in 33 games.

He was named player of the year by both the Football Writers' Association and Professional Footballers' Association.

Liverpool have not made any comment on the latest incident and will let Fifa deal with it before deciding on any action.

               Luis Suarez's controversies

July 2010: Handles the ball on the line to deny Ghana a winner in the last minute of extra time in the World Cup quarter-finals. Asamoah Gyan misses the resulting penalty and Uruguay win the shootout to reach the semi-finals.

November 2010: Given seven-match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder while playing for Ajax.

December 2011: Given eight-match suspension and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

February 2012: Refuses to shake hands with Evra at Old Trafford and is described as a "disgrace" by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

April 2013 : Suarez apologises for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Gets 10-game ban.