FIFA Says Four Months on the Bench for Biter Suarez, Victim Chiellini Calls the Punishment is "Excessive"
- Angelica Leicht
- Jun 27, 2014 06:45 PM EDT
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In case it wasn't clear who the classier player was in the Chiellini-Suarez World Cup incident, bite victim Giorgio Chiellini has spoken out against the FIFA punishment handed down to biter Luis Suarez, calling it "excessive," among other things, in his blog for Sportlobster.
After word came of Suarez's punishment: 4 months on the bench -- in which Suarez is banned from not only all footbal events but stadiums as well -- as well as a suspension for the next nine Uruguay internationals and a fine of CHF 100,000, or a little over $1,000 American dollars.
Uruguay's football federation says it plans to appeal the ban, but whether or not they will be successful remains to be seen. The punishment will start immediately, meaning that Suarez will be out for Uruguay's next World Cup game, the match against Colombia, and will continue into the Premiere League season.
And while Chiellini was quite upset on the field -- photos of him pulling down his shirt and gesturing to his shoulder in anger are all over the Internet -- he seems to have cooled down a bit in the time since.
Here's Chiellini's insight on the issue:
"Now inside me there are no feelings of joy, revenge or anger against Suarez for an incident, which happened on the pitch and is done. There only remains the anger and the disappointment about the match. At the moment, my only thought is for Luis and his family, because they will face a very difficult period.
"I have always unequivocally considered the disciplinary interventions by the competent bodies, but at the same time I believe the proposed formula is excessive. I sincerely hope he will be allowed to stay close to his teammates during the games, because such a ban is really alienating for a player."
Chiellini's words are pretty classy, considering. But FIFA offiials aren't likely to make changes to the punishment. After all, this isn't Suarez's first incident of biting on the pitch. The Uruguayan player was playing for Ajax in the Netherlands in 2010 when he bit PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder.
He was banned for seven games following the incident.
In a 2013 game against Liverpool, Suarez bit Chelsea's Branislov Ivanovic on the arm, and was subsequently banned for 10 games.
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