Four months, 9 internationals, 12 Liverpool games: the Suarez ban will bite hard

Fangs for the memories: Suarez is banned for 4 months

FOUR MONTHS. Luis Suarez is not even allowed to WATCH football until the end of October after FIFA acted on his THIRD biting incident with welcome speed and weight.

Officially, Suarez’s teeth-marks in Italian Gogio Chiellini’s shoulder will also result in him missing Uruguay’ last 16 clash against Colombia in the World Cup on Saturday – he is also banned for NINE internationals and fined $65,000 (about R1m).

The expected appeal from Uruguay (who are apparently threatening to boycott their last 16 tie as a result of the ban) WON’T open a backdoor for Suarez to play at the Maracana.

Beyond reasonable doubt: Suarez bits Chiellini

Both his club Liverpool and sponsors adidas will hold talks to discuss their future with Suarez, who will miss 9 games at the start of the next Barclays Premier League season PLUS their first THREE Champions League matches. Liverpool may be able to sue their star striker – top scorer in England with 31 goals last season and joint winner of the UEFA Golden Boot with Cristiano Ronaldo – for breach of contract.

Claudio Sulser, chairman of the independent disciplinary committee, announced: “We took all factors of the case into account. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particularly not at a World Cup with the eyes of millions on the stars.”

He added: "A stadium ban is pronounced against the player in accordance with article 21 of the FDC as follows: the player Luis Suárez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium during the period of the ban.”

THE LIVERPOOL GAMES SUAREZ WILL MISS

Aug 16: Liverpool v Southampton

Aug 23: Manchester City v Liverpool

Aug 30: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool

Sep 13: Liverpool v Aston Villa

Sep 16: Champions League 1

Sep 20: West Ham United v Liverpool

Sep 27: Liverpool v Everton

Sep 30: Champions League 2

Oct 4: Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion

Oct 18: Queens Park Rangers v Liverpool

Oct 21: Champions League 3

Oct 25: Liverpool v Hull City

FIFA’s reaction comes in stark contrast to arguments in mitigation from Suarez’s lawyer Alejandro Balbi, who is also a member of the Uruguayan Football Assocation. Before the ban was announced said: “We don’t have any doubts that this has happened because it’s Suarez and secondly because Italy was eliminated.

How the referee missed it: the incident against Italy

“There’s a lot of pressure from England and Italy. We’re polishing off a defence argument. There is a possibility that they ban him, because there are precedents, but we’re convinced that it was an absolutely casual play, because if Chiellini can show a scratch on one shoulder, Suarez can show a bruised and almost shut eye.

“If every player starts showing the injuries he suffers and they open inquiries for them, everything will be way too complicated in the future. We’re going to use all the arguments possible so that Luis gets out in the best possible way.”

“You shouldn’t forget that we’re rivals of many and we can be for the organiser in the future. This does not go against what might have happened, but there’s no doubt that Suarez is a rock in the shoe for many.”

That rock has now been reduced to rubble. Until the end of October…

SOCCERBALLZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za with Mark Fish airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. Ballz will also provide daily World Cup updates from next week.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

Three bites and you're OUT: Why Luis Suarez CANNOT be allowed to continue in this World Cup

All bite on the night: Chiellini and Suarez

THE WORLD CUP faces perhaps the greatest test in its history this week when they address the problem of Luis Suarez and his prominent teeth.

Uruguay's enormously talented striker - scorer of both goals in their epic 2-1 win over England - stands accused of a THIRD incident of biting an opponent during his nation's 1-0 win over Italy last night.

When I say "accused" the pictures are damning – and hugely damaging to the game. As I said last night after the incident, Italy weren't just beaten, they were well bitten. Afterwards the "victim" Giorgio Chiellini was rightly aggrieved, exhibiting clear tooth-marks in his left shoulder.

The whole tooth: Suarez reacts after biting incident

The 29-year-old Juventus defender said: “Suarez is a sneak and he gets away with it because FIFA want their stars to play in the World Cup. 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.”

Though Uruguay are through to the knock-out stages after a result which saw Italian boss Cesare Prandelli resign, FIFA surely CANNOT allow Suarez to play any further part in the tournament.

The 27-year-old, top scorer with 31 goals in the Premier League last season and joint winner of the European golden boot with Cristiano Ronado, bravely fought back from knee surgery to play in Brazil after his deliberate hand-ball put Ghana out of the tournament in the 2010 quarter-finals.

Muzzled: a possible solution for Suarez

This was supposed to be an opportunity to wipe the slate clean, the emerge as a rival to global superstars like Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazilian four-goal hero Neymar.

Instead, Suarez poses the toughest disciplinary conundrum in the history of the game – any game. While controversial boxer Mike Tyson chewed Evander Holyfield's ear in 1997 and South African rugby Springbok Johan Le Roux bit New Zealand's Sean Fitzpatrick in 1994, Suarez is the first sportsman to stand accused of multiple episodes of, well, let’s call it “attempted cannibalism”.

The first came on 20 November 2010,  when Suárez – playing for Ajax Amsterdam - bit PSV's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder during a 0–0 draw.

Ajax suspended him for two games and fined him an undisclosed amount which the club said they would donate to a "good cause". The Dutch FA later increased the ban to seven games and Suarez was sold to Liverpool without playing another game.

The second bite occurred on 21 April 2013, in a 2–2 draw with Chelsea in a Premier League game at Anfield. Again, he clearly bit Branislav Ivanović on the shoulder. Despite Chelsea protests, Suarez stayed on the pitch and scored the injury-time equaliser.

He was banned for 10 matches with the FA – having already slapped an 8-match ban for racism on the Uruguayan in 2011 – insisting they wanted to send: "a strong message that such deplorable behaviours do not have a place in football".  

Evidence: teeth marks

Then, unbelievably, the THIRD incident last night saw Chiellini bitten in very similar circumstances. The bite marks were quite clear as the Italian ran to the ref to protest, but again, no action was taken and Uruguay went on to win 1-0 and qualify for the last 16.

The football-speaking world remains in shock this morning. The Suarez bite quite simply over-shadowed England’s worst-ever World Cup showing – their 0-0 draw with Costa Rica left them with one point to take home on their flight of shame – and a controversial injury-time penalty which saw Greece win 2-1 and oust the Ivory Coast.

Chiellini added: “The disparity in judgment has been evident. Claudio Marchisio’s sending-off (Italy were already down to 10 men) was ridiculous but more so the fact that Suarez wasn’t sent off.

“There’s the will to protect champions but the referee should have shown him a red card.”

FIFA have announced they will be looking in to the incident and have given Uruguay today to provide mitigation against Suarez’s impending punishment.

In theory, the World Cup disciplinary panel have the power to suspend Suarez for up to two years.

Worryingly, Uruguay are in denial. Their captain Diego Lugano said: "You couldn't have seen it because nothing happened. The worst of everything is the attitude of Chiellini. As a man, he disappointed me totally."

And team-mate Diego Forlan insisted: “I didn’t see anything,” while many fans in the stadium actually missed the incident, it happened so quickly.

But the pictures can leave no question. Uruguay will complain and claim persecution of their best player, one of the finest strikers in Europe over the past 12 months.

Judgement: How twitter views Suarez

To listen to them would be WRONG. Kids will be watching the images today and wondering: “Is it okay to bite an opposing player?” while admiring a man found guilty of racism and cheating.

Media pundit and former Wales international Robbie Savage said: "It is a disgrace. Suarez should never play international football again."

Former USA goalkeeper Brad Friedel agreed: "Still can't believe what I've seen again from Suarez...needs an ENORMOUS ban from football. THIRD time now!"

Suarez must be taught a lasting lesson this time. No football in the spotlight for a year at least. Anything less than ending the World Cup for one of its most talented strikers would be seen as cowardly. Let’s see what FIFA do.

SOCCERBALLZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za with Mark Fish airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. Ballz will also provide daily World Cup updates from next week.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

OFFICIAL: For Uruguay, Italy and England, it's Group D for Death. Argentina have it easiest...South Africa would have been the WORST side there

Have mercy: Rio's statue of Christ looms over World Cup

Less than a week before the World Cup kicks off on Thursday night, we have a NEW GROUP OF DEATH.

We always knew it was going to be tough for Ghana at this World Cup. Drawn in Group G with Germany, Portugal and the USA, we suspected the Black Stars would struggle to finish in the top two after narrowly failing to reach the semi-finals in South Africa 2010.

But today we can reveal Group G is NOT QUITE as nasty as Group D (Uruguay, England, Italy and Costa Rica) as we count down to the 2014 World Cup tournament which starts with hosts Brazil v Croatia on Thursday.

There is only ONE scientific way to rate a World Cup qualification group. It goes like this: add up the combined FIFA rankings of the four sides involved. The highest score equals the EASIEST group, the lowest score suggests the MOST DIFFICULT pool (otherwise known as the GROUP OF DEATH).

With FIFA’s last set of rankings before the big kick-off released yesterday, now is the time to check just WHICH TEAMS have the easiest task when it comes to reaching the last 16.

On that basis, with Costa Rica up SIX places to 28^th and England moving up one while Portugal slipped a place to 4th in the latest rankings, Group D can now be classified as the toughest group with 54 points while Group G is the second hardest pool with a total of 56 points.

Argentina’s Group F – shared with Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria – is officially the easiest pool on 113 with Group H (Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea) next easiest with a total world ranking of 109.

It’s also worth noting Group D contains the most top-ten teams (Three: Uruguay, Italy and England), while Group H (Belgium, Algeria, Russia, Korea Republic) offers no nation in that elite group.

The world’s top 15 teams are ALL involved, Ukraine (16^th) are the highest ranked nation failing to qualify. Denmark (23^rd) are the next highest-ranked failures followed by Slovenia (25^th) and, surprisingly, Scotland (27^th).

The lowest ranked team in the tournament is Australia at 62 with South Korea at 56. If South Africa, now ranked 65 after their draws against the Aussies and New Zealand last month, had qualified, they would have been officially the WORST team at the tournament.

GROUP BY GROUP

GROUP A

Brazil 3

Croatia 18

Mexico 20

Cameroon 56

TOTAL: 97

GROUP B

Spain 1

Netherlands 15

Chile 14

Australia 62

TOTAL: 92

GROUP C

Colombia 8

Greece 12

Cote D’Ivoire 23

Japan 46

TOTAL: 89

GROUP D

Uruguay 7

Costa Rica 28

England 10

Italy 9

TOTAL: 54

GROUP E

Switzerland 6

Ecuador 26

France 16

Honduras 33

TOTAL: 81

GROUP F

Argentina 5

Bosnia 21

Iran 43

Nigeria 44

TOTAL: 113

GROUP G

Germany 2

Portugal 4

Ghana 37

USA 13

TOTAL: 56

GROUP H

Belgium 11

Algeria 22

Russia 19

South Korea 57

TOTAL: 109 

Biting news: Luis Suarez: yes, he's hungry but can he EVER play for Liverpool again

This is the first tweet from Luis Suarez after yesterday's incident: "I'm sad for what happened this afternoon, I apologize Ivanovic and all football world for my inexcusable behaviour. I'm so sorry about it!!" But as you can see above, he's done it before. Here's what happened today...
 

The first point that needs to be made about Sunday’s unbelievable Luis Suarez biting incident is: he’s done it before. Like his infamous use of the hands in vital situations, he doesn’t seem to learn the lesson.

The second point? The 26-year-old CANNOT play for Liverpool again. Enough is enough. Prominent hands are one thing, prominent teeth are another. Ask Mike Tyson.

Playing for Ajax Amsterdam against Feyenoord in 2010, there is clear video evidence of the controversial Uruguayan biting the neck of Dutchman Otman Bakkal, a tasty misdemeanour which earned him a seven-match ban.

That first attempt at cannibalism came AFTER the infamous handball which devastated Ghana at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but BEFORE his eight-game ban for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

Since then, he has managed to get in to trouble for diving, using his hands, stamping and erm... scoring goals.

Just yesterday he needlessly handled to give away the penalty which gave Chelsea the lead seconds after the first goal and scored the last-gasp second in a pulsating 2-2 draw at Anfield – but only because ref Kevin Friend ignored those Branislav Ivanovic tooth marks, despite the Serbian defenders’ animated complaints.

The question is, can Suarez play again after yesterday's incident, which echoed around the football-speaking world? Clearly, Liverpool are worried. The Football Association will charge him (violent conduct or vampirism), with one eye on the career-changing seven-match suspension for the first incident in Holland.

After that, he never played in the Ere Divisie again. He moved to Liverpool. On Sunday night, Suarez said: "I have tried to contact Branislav Ivanovic to speak to him personally. I apologise also to my manager, playing colleagues and everyone at Liverpool for letting them down."

His long-suffering Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers said: "Having reviewed the video footage and spoken to Luis, his behaviour is unacceptable and I have made him aware of this."

More conclusive is this from Ian Ayre, Liverpool’s managing director, who cancelled a Reds-promoting trip to Australia as Suarez’s arm-chewing went global.

Ayre said: "His conduct is not befitting of a Liverpool player. Luis is aware that he has let himself and everyone associated with the club down. We will deal with the matter internally and await any action from the Football Association."

Tellingly, Rodgers said in his post-match interview: "This is a club with incredible values and ethics. There's certainly no-one bigger than this club, a player or a manager. You think a player can’t be released then another one comes along.

"As football managers, staff and players, we're representing this club, off the field and in particular on the field."

Former Liverpool and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp, trying to explain the remarkable scenes on Sky in England, said: “There is that madness-genius gene in him because as a player he’s exceptional, with people talking about him being player of the year, but what he did today, is indefensible.

“Even the staunchest Liverpool supporters cannot look at that and think that’s okay. Why on earth would you want to take a chunk out of someone when you are on a football field? That is an absolutely incredible act of brutality. It’s madness.”

Former player and coach Graeme Souness growled: "He has to be in the last-chance saloon as a Liverpool player."

There is another awkward debate about to dawn too. Suarez, who scored his 30^th goal of the season six-minutes in to injury-time yesterday, has been named on the PFA Player of the Year shortlist.

PFA chairman Gordon Taylor, one of the world’s richest union leaders, said: "It is very depressing and embarrassing that it should happen. If it wasn't for all the controversies he's been involved in he would be a more highly regarded player.

"Players are role models and are highly rewarded. This sets such a bad example. We cannot exclude him from our awards but this is embarrassing."

You can hear me discussing Suarez's hunger on eTV Sunrise (DSTV 194) at 7.15am and eNCAnews (DSTV 403) at 8.15am. A version of this story will appear in The New Age newspaper on Tuesday morning.

Forlorn Forlan Won't Be Forgotten When Uruguay Take on France in Cape Town tomorrow

ALMOST forgotten amid the once-upon-a-time hysteria surrounding South Africa’s World Cup kick-off tomorrow is a little wizard with golden locks, hoping to complete a 60-year-old fairy tale.

When the jets and – hopefully – Nelson Mandela have departed Soccer City and while the Rainbow Nation are still digesting their opening clash with Mexico, Uruguay will kick off the second Group A game of the day against once-mighty France in Cape Town at 8.30pm (7.30pm in England).

And all eyes will be on former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan. We may have ignored him a little after he left Old Trafford for Spain. But his dad, Pablo, is there to remind us: “If he shows his true form, Uruguay could go far. And I really hope they do.”

Pablo played for Uruguay too, while grand-dad Juan Carlos Corzao played for Independiente in Argentina. Diego, earning rave reviews at Atletico Madrid en route to their Europa League triumph (above) last season, says: “Dad played in two World Cups, 1966 and 1974. I am so proud of him.”

Hopefully, by tomorrow night at around 10pm, the feeling will be mutual. To get past fragile France, Forlan will be relying on the famous Uruguayan fighting spirit: “When people talk about garra charrúa, sometimes they think it means ‘playing hard’. But that’s not really what it is. It means we must focus on winning – nothing else matters.”

Uruguay coach Oscar “The Maestro” Tabarez, who chose to play just one warm-up match, has already named his team. Chile-based defender Mauricio Victorino and Penarol midfielder Egidio Arevalo Rios are the surprise choices, the only two changes to the side which beat Israel 4-1. That was on May 26 and we’ve seen little of Uruguay, World Cup winners 60 years ago, since.

Forlan, 31 years, 62 caps, 24 goals, will play next to Ajax’s 35-goal striker Luis Suarez up front after overcoming injury scares. They are considered to be one of the most frightening dynamic duos at this World Cup.

Uruguay missed out on Germany 2006 but Forlan was around for 2002. After his side were forced to see off Costa Rica in a play-off after finishing fifth in the lengthy Latin American qualifying group, he grins: "It doesn’t matter how we got here, what’s important is that we are here now, in South Africa. We can forget about the ghosts of matches past.

“The years have flown by for everyone, but this time it's my turn to be one of the older heads – I’ll approach it with a bit more experience under my belt. We’ve got a great bunch of footballers who all get on very well together.”

France, after drawing with Tunisia and losing to China in their last two warm-ups, are in disarray. There are reported splits in the camp and today we hear coach Raymond Domenech, who will be replaced by Laurent Blanc after the World Cup, has been told by the players he must start veteran Arsenal and Barcelona striker Thierry “Hand of God” Henry. France are ranked 9 in the world, Uruguay 16th.

Forlan shrugs off France’s controversial passage to South Africa in that Parisian play-off against the Republic of Ireland, saying: “How they qualified isn’t significant either – they have good players, and it’s going to be a tough match.

“Uruguayan football has a rich history, marked by great victories, trophies and accomplishments. But it’s 60 years since we won the World Cup. Now it’s our turn to leave an impression."

Manchester City’s Patrick Vieira, left out of the French squad, flew in to commentate yesterday. He knows full well the pressures on the 1999 winners and 2006 finalists. He says, a tad hopefully: "France have always been criticised before big tournaments. It’s nothing new. I really strongly believe that France are good enough to win the World Cup even if they haven't played well in the friendlies."

Those lucky enough to have tickets for the opening game at the fabulous new Green Point Stadium tomorrow will then turn their minds to another French clash – on the rugby field at Newlands, where the Springboks await.

It could be a very galling weekend for the French.

Neal Collins is in South Africa promoting his first novel, A GAME APART, dubbed “the book you must read before the World Cup”. For more information see www.nealcollins.co.uk. See also his furious Fabio video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENNPo6AF1Lo

Like watching Wycombe play at Wembley. My first World Cup venue review

SO while most of the rest of the football-speaking world were watching Chelsea held 3-3 by Everton, Spurs upset 1-0 at home by Wolves and Manchester United go down1-0 against Aston Villa, guess where I was?

At Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, the venue for South Africa's World Cup clash against Uruguay on June 16.

Other games at Loftus, South Africa's favourite rugby ground? Serbia v Ghana on June 13, Cameroon v Denmark on June 19, USA v Algeria on June 23 and Chile v Spain on June 25.

They will also host the round of 16 clash between the winner of Group F - probably Italy - against the runner-up in Group E - possibly Cameroon or Denmark - on 29 June.

Beneath the shadow of the Lukasrand Post Office tower - complete with giant football to advertise the coming World Cup (pictured by yours truly), Loftus is a huge venue, capacity 50,00, with no roof against tropical storms in summer, but then it doesn't rain at all in the winter, which is what the southern hemisphere nation will be experiencing during the World Cup.

It's been used as a sporting venue since 1903 but has enjoyed a few upgrades since. I did what few tourists - or whites in this country - would dream of. I simply walked up to the ground, asked for a ticket... and enjoyed my 90 minutes.

Was I threatened? Mugged? Intimdated? Nope. The ticket cost R20, which is about £1.50 (and a fifth of the price of World Cup tickets), and for that I had about 48,000 seats to choose from. The crowd amounted to around 2,000, partly due to the fact that ever-popular Kaizer Chiefs were playing two hours later down the road at the sold-out Atteridgeville Super Stadium.

Somehow though, the hardly band of about 1,000 SuperSport United supporters, with their side heading for their third successive Premier Soccer League trophy, managed to create an atmosphere using a band of buglers, trombonists and bass drummers, not to mention plenty of the traditional Africa Vuvuzela horns. For the full 90 minutes, as they tore the PSL's bottom club apart, the SuperSports superband kept up their melodic progress.

But what music was it? The latest African hits? Traditional stuff? It certainly wasn't the kind of nonsense the Sheffield Wednesday brass band use to drown out the crowd at Hillsborough. Problem solved. The ladies behind me explained that were playing "popular wedding songs" throughout. At it wasn't half bad.

In that huge bowl it was all a bit like watching Wycombe Wanderers struggling for their lives in Division One - but using Wembley or Twickenham as a home for their tiny band of fans.

SuperSport, boasting three BafanaBafana (The Boys, The Boys as the national team is known) regulars were simply too physical for Cosmos, who had all the talent but must have weighed about two stone less on average than the home team. Ironic really, because Jomo Sono, the once-great South African footballer of the 70s who named his side after his New York Cosmos experiences, is now a huge old induna!

More important than the 3-0 win by SuperSport United, which puts them even further clear of the chasing pack, is how the place measures up as a World Cup venue.

Ironically, England's cricketers will be training 400 yards down the road at Pretoria University's LC De Villiers Stadium on Monday as they prepare for the first Test against South Africa at Centurion on Wednesday.

And that kind of sums up the area. Plenty of sports grounds, the local university, with busy Sunnyside, the commercial centre of Pretoria, just down the road. We drove around the centre of Pretoria without a problem, windows open, just like you would in any other city.

I went to the game on my own, without a ticket, and had no trouble getting sorted. I struck up conversation with Reggie Mthale, a local electrician, who said: "We are all determined this World Cup will be the greatest ever. It's the first for Africa and all our sides have got a tough draw. But all South Africa have to do is beat France. I hope the referee keeps an eye out for handball!

"I know the stadium is empty tonight but in South Africa only Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates get the big crowds. When the World Cup comes, this stadium will be filled for every game. And you can feel safe here, not matter what people might tell you."

Oh, and the final link to Saturday's Premier League shocks? The last time Manchester United lost to Aston Villa was in 1983. Back then, both goals in a 2-0 win were scored by a striker called Peter Withe, a man who was spotted by Derek Dougan playing for Arcadia Shepherds about a mile away from Loftus Versfeld!