Luis Suarez bite: Uruguay striker banned for four months

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has been suspended from all football-related activity for four months for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. 

In addition, the Liverpool player, 27, has been banned for nine international matches, ruling him out of the rest of the 2014 Fifa World Cup.


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He will also miss the first nine games of the Premier League season.

Uruguay say they will appeal, calling it an "excessive decision" for which "there was not enough evidence". 

Uruguay Football Association president Wilmar Valdez added: "I have seen more aggressive incidents recently.

"It is a severe punishment. I don't know exactly which arguments they used but it is a tough punishment for Suarez."

The player has also been fined 100,000 Swiss francs (£65,680) for the incident, which occurred on Tuesday as Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 to finish second in group D and qualify for the last 16 in Brazil.

The ban is the biggest in World Cup history, beating the eight games given to Italy's Mauro Tassotti for elbowing Spain's Luis Enrique in 1994.

"Such behaviour 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, chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee, said in a statement.

Suarez has now been found guilty of biting three opponents in his career, and former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson felt the suspension should have been longer.

"Say my boy was about 11 or 12, how do you explain to your lad who's a football fan exactly what Luis Suarez keeps doing?" he told BBC Sport.

"He is now a persistent offender and I thought actually the ban would have been much harsher."

Suarez was banned for 10 games for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic during a Premier League match in 2013 and was also suspended for seven games for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in 2010. 

Mexican referee Marco Rodriquez did not see Suarez bite Chiellini on the left shoulder, but Fifa ordered an inquiry after the match following protests by the Italian.

Suarez tried to dismiss the incident, telling Uruguayan television: "These are just things that happen out on the pitch. It was just the two of us inside the area and he bumped into me with his shoulder."

Suarez's first match back for Liverpool could be in round four of the Capital One Cup, should the Reds win their first game after entering the tournament in the third round, with matches due to take place in the week commencing 27 October.

Reds chief executive Ian Ayre said: "Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the Fifa disciplinary committee report before making any further comment."
Under the terms of the ban, Suarez cannot train with Liverpool and is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium during his suspension.

But Liverpool would not be prevented from selling him this summer should they decide to. He has already been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Barcelona

Sponsor Adidas said it "fully supports Fifa's decision" and will not use Suarez for any more marketing purposes during the World Cup.

"We will again be reminding him of the high standards we expect from our players," added the company. "We will discuss all aspects of our future partnership directly with Suarez and his team."

World Cup: Luis Suarez embroiled in new 'biting' storm

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Luis Suarez may have bitten off more than he can chew this time. Already banned twice in his career for biting an opponent, the Uruguay striker was seemingly at it again in his country's key World Cup victory over Italy.

Just before Uruguay's winning goal, the striker was embroiled in an off the ball incident with Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini with both men falling to the floor.

Television pictures showed Suarez dipping his head towards Chiellini, and when the Italian defender eventually got up, he pulled down his shirt and appeared to furiously indicate that he had been bitten on the shoulder.

"Suarez is a sneak and he gets away with it because FIFA want their stars to play in the World Cup," Chiellini told Sky Sports Italia.

"I'd love to see if they have the courage to use video evidence against him. The referee saw the bite mark too, but he did nothing about it.," added the Juventus defender.

The 27-year-old Suarez will now face a nervous wait to find out if football's world governing body FIFA will take action retrospectively -- given it was missed by the match officials - and punish him.

But Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez insists he did not see the incident when he addressed the press in his news conference.

"I'd like to see the images," he said.

"I didn't see that. And if it happened the referee probably didn't see it. So no I don't have any more comments to make. We had more important things than this in a football match."

Diego Godin's 81st minute header secured victory for Uruguay against an Italian team which played the final half hour with 10-men after Claudio Marchisio was sent off.

The defeat led to Italian coach Cesare Prandelli offering his resignation in his news conference after the game -- but all eyes were still on Suarez.

The Uruguayan, who plays his club football with Liverpool, was banned for 10 games in April 2013 after being found guilty of biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.

He was also guilty of biting during his time in the Netherlands with Ajax where he was banned for seven games after leaving a scar on the collarbone of Otman Bakkal.

Suarez's rap sheet is lengthy.

At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he deliberately handled the ball on the goal-line to deny Ghana a place in the semifinals of the World Cup.

He was sent off for his troubles but Ghana missed the penalty and Uruguay went on to finish third in the tournament.

The following year after his move to Liverpool, Suarez was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra. He was fined $63,000 and banned for eight matches.

Last week, after scoring both goals in his side's 2-1 victory over England, Suarez hit out at the British media after claiming he had been unfairly treated over his transgressions.

"Before the game people in England laughed about my attitude over the last few years," he told reporters following the game.

"I want to see what they think now. I have dreamed of this moment."

Suarez enjoyed a sensational season with Liverpool -- scoring 31 league goals to help his club qualify for the Champions League.

He was voted Player of the Year by his fellow colleagues and also named as the journalists' Player of the Year too -- awards that reflected a feeling that Suarez had put behind him his troubled past.

His participation in the World Cup had looked in danger when he suffered a knee injury in Liverpool's final game of the season.

He was forced to undergo keyhole surgery and missed Uruguay's opening game defeat by Costa Rica before making a near miraculous return in time to face England just five weeks after his operation, scoring both goals in the South American side's 2-1 win.

Uruguay's next game is likely to be against Colombia on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro. In the group's other game, Costa Rica sealed top spot with a goalless draw against England. Los Ticos, which won both of its previous games, will play its next game in Recife on Sunday.

SPORT : Michael Schumacher out of coma and transferred to rehab

Former F1 driver Michael Schumacher is no longer in a coma and has been transferred from a hospital in Grenoble, France, where he had been admitted after a skiing accident last year, his management said in a statement Monday.

"Michael has left ... to continue his long phase of rehabilitation," according to his manager Sabine Kehm.

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He will continue his recovery at the University hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. Officials there confirmed that Schumacher was admitted, but gave no further details about his treatment.

Schumacher, 45, suffered severe head trauma in a skiing accident at the French Alps resort of Meribel on December 29.

A seven-time world champion whose F1 career ended in 2012, Schumacher has been treated in Grenoble since his accident.

In early January, a French prosecutor investigating the accident said that speed was not a reason for Schumacher's fall.

His investigative team said it thinks the experienced skier hit a rock hidden beneath the snow while traversing an area between two marked pistes, which catapulted him face first onto another rock.

Schumacher ended up 9 meters (30 feet) from the edge of the piste, prosecutor Patrick Quincy said.

Footage from a small camera attached to Schumacher's helmet has been used to help the investigators' analysis.

As in previous statements, Schumacher's agent asked the media to respect the privacy of the F1 legend's family.

"The family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all the many good wishes," Kehm said. "We are sure it helped him. For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye."

World Cup: Neymar inspires Brazil to victory

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When it mattered most, the man which this Brazilian team's quest may depend on, delivered once again. Neymar, the face of this World Cup, scored his fourth goal in three games to book his country a date with destiny and Chile in Belo Horizonte on Saturday.

The 22-year-old, for so long hailed as the savior of Brazilian football, has not disappointed at a time where the likes of Portugal's World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo have flattered to deceive.

While Lionel Messi has rescued Argentina, Neymar's 35th goal in 52 international appearances gives an insight into how crucial his role is likely to be in the next few weeks should Brazil go all the way.

His two goals and further strikes from the much maligned Fred and substitute Fernandinho ensured Brazil claimed a 4-1 win over Cameroon and secured top spot in Group A.

Mexico, which defeated Croatia 3-1, took second place and will now face the Netherlands in Fortaleza on Sunday. But the night belonged to Neymar -- the man who scored the 100th goal of this tournament in his country's 100th match World Cup match.

Brazil will need its talisman to provide his magic once again when it meets Chile, a team which it knocked out of the tournament four years ago in South Africa. Jorge Sampaoli's men will represent a far more difficult proposition than a Cameroon side which briefly threatened to cause embarrassment by drawing level at 1-1.

But Neymar, having already netted the opener, then took charge by scoring his side's second and guiding Brazil home. Cameroon, thrashed 4-0 in its previous game by Croatia and already out of the tournament, was hardly supposed to represent the most difficult of challenges.

Leading through Neymar's 17th minute strike, Brazil allowed Cameroon back into the contest as its cumbersome defending was once again exposed. Just minutes after Joel Matip's header had been deflected onto the crossbar, Cameroon leveled to silence those packed inside the Arena Pernambuco.

Allan Nyom escaped down the right and after beating the non-existent challenge of Dani Alves, crossed for Matip to tap home from close range.

Suddenly, from a carnival of color and celebration, a dark cloud hung over Brazil's World Cup dream.

But any negativity was soon washed away by a rampant yellow swagger which ripped through the very heart of the Cameroon defense.

Neymar, the chief tormentor, was afforded far too much room and after leading the defenders a samba-like dance, he unleashed a fine effort which wrongfooted the goalkeeper.

Suddenly Brazil was rampant. Neymar threatened a third when his powerful effort was tipped away by Charles Itandje, while Hulk failed to hit the target after a wonderful flowing move.

The interval offered little respite for Cameroon and within five minutes it fell further behind when the previously luckless Fred converted David Luiz's cross to net his first goal of the tournament.

Fernandinho, the Manchester City midfielder, added a fourth with six minutes remaining to ensure Brazil finished top on goal difference from Mexico. "Maybe we tried to hurry things a bit too much early on, when we scored our first goal and let anxiety get to us," Brazil's coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said after the match.

"We need to show more calm and composure. Fortunately we ironed out some flaws at half-time and after the break we used the ball better again." El Tri had threatened to usurp the host nation at the top of the table after putting Croatia to the sword in Recife.

After a goalless first half, Rafael Marquez, the first man to captain his country at four World Cups, headed Mexico in front with 18 minutes remaining. Andres Guardado rounded off a slick counter attack soon after to double his side's advantage before Manchester United star Javier Hernandez added a third.

It was a just reward for Mexico, which hit the crossbar in the first half and was denied what appeared to be a blatant penalty with the game still goalless.

"(We'll) have a few more great days yet," Miguel Herrera, the Mexico manager said. "There is still room for improvement. We stayed calm and maintained our focus, that was the key to success."

Croatia, which could have qualified with a victory, pulled a goal back through Ivan Perisic but was then reduced to 10 men when Ante Rebic was sent off.

Mexico will now face a Dutch side which won all three of its group games and reached the final in South Africa four years ago.