Luis Suarez banned: Striker given nine-game AND four month ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini in biggest ever World Cup suspension
Suarez has been given the biggest ever ban in World Cup history after he was found guilty of biting another player for the third time
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Your support makes all the difference.Luis Suarez has been handed a record nine-game international ban and a four month football ban after Fifa found him guilty of biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini, making the sanction the biggest ever World Cup suspension in history.
Fifa confirmed the news at their morning briefing on Friday at the Maracana Stadium, where they also confirmed that Suarez will have to pay a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs (around £66,000).
The governing body also confirmed that while he can appeal the decision, the ban will start immediately, meaning Suarez's World Cup is over. Furthermore, Suarez cannot attend any football stadium for the duration of the ban, after Fifa confirmed that he has been suspended from taking part in "any kind of football-related activity".
The statement released by Fifa read: "The player Luis Suarez is to be suspended for nine official matches. The first match of this suspension is to be served in the upcoming FIFA World Cup fixture between Colombia and Uruguay on June 28, 2014. The remaining match suspensions shall be served in Uruguay's next FIFA World Cup match(es), as long as the team (remains in the competition), and/or in the representative team's subsequent official matches.
"The player Luis Suarez is banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) for a period of four months.
"A stadium ban is pronounced against the player Luis Suarez in accordance with article 21 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code as follows: the player Luis Suarez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium during the period of the ban.
"The player Luis Suarez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium in which the representative team of Uruguay is playing while he has to serve the nine-match suspension.
"The player Luis Suarez is ordered to pay a fine in the amount of 100,000 Swiss Francs."
Claudio Sulser, the chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee, said at the briefing that the panel had taken into account all the factors in the case, including the "degree of his guilt", and confirmed that the ban starts immediately.
Sulser said: "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.
"The disciplinary committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suarez's guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the dode. The decision comes into force as soon it is communicated."
As part of their defence of the 27-year-old striker, Alejandro Balbi, a board member of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), claimed that Suarez actually came off with worse injuries than his opponent. Balbi also claimed that Suarez was a victim of a conspiracy created by English, Italian and Brazilian media in an effort to rid the World Cup of the striker after he helped knock out the former two nations in Group D.
But Fifa have thrown the book at a player who has now been found guilty of biting on three separate occasions.
Suarez’s previous bans were taken into account when the committee met to discuss the sanction, with the current Liverpool star picking up a seven-match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal in 20011 and a 10-match ban for replicating the offence two years later on Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic towards the end of last season.
Video: Suarez bites Chiellini
Suarez will now miss the rest of the World Cup with Uruguay scheduled to take on Colombia on Saturday night for a place in the quarter-finals, although Fifa confirmed that any appeal will not prevent the ban starting immediately.
Suarez's ban trumps the heaviest sanction that Fifa has ever given out during a World Cup, being an eight-match ban it imposed on Italy’s Mauro Tassotti for breaking the nose of Spain’s Luis Enrique during the 1994 tournament.
Liverpool announced that the will await the full details of the decision before making a full comment on the ban.
"Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the FIFA Disciplinary Committee report before making any further comment," said a statement from chief executive Ian Ayre.
Games Suarez will miss:
Saturday 28 June: Uruguay v Colombia World Cup second round
Friday 4 July: World Cup quarter-final
Tuesday 8 July: World Cup semi-final
Saturday 12 July: World Cup third place play-off OR Sunday 13 July: World Cup final
Saturday 16 August: Liverpool v Southampton
Saturday 23 August: Manchester City v Liverpool
Saturday 30 September: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool
Saturday 13 September: Liverpool v Aston Villa
Tuesday 16/Wednesday 17 September: Champions League group game
Saturday 20 September: West Ham United v Liverpool
Tuesday 23/Wednesday 24 September: Capital One Cup third round
Saturday 27 October: Liverpool v Everton
Tuesday 30 September/Wednesday 1 October: Champions League group game
Saturday 4 October: Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion
Thursday 9 October: Saudi Arabia v Uruguay
Saturday 18 October: Queens Park Rangers v Liverpool
Tuesday 21/Wednesday 22 October: Champions League group game
Saturday 25 October: Liverpool v Hull City
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