By any standards of behaviour, why does Liverpool and Uruguay’s crack footballer Luis Suarez bite opponents?
Not once, not twice, but three times.
Suarez copped seven games for biting Ajax’s Olman Bakkal in 2010, and another 10 games for chomping on Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic last year.
The third chomp was against Italian defender Georgio Chiellini last Tuesday, with FIFA, as usual, sitting on its backside doddering over what to do.
The end result is clear, Suarez’s World Cup must be over with a suspension that should, and must, extend well beyond the maximum four games left for Uruguay in Brazil.
The maximum is 24 games, or two years. The latter looms large.
Which raises the question, why would such a terrific footballer endanger his reported $361,000 a week at Liverpool?
He’s a millionaire every three weeks just to play, but that’s just the minimum with personal sponsorships going close to doubling that figure.
One thing is for sure, sponsors will be looking for an escape clause, and they won’t have to look far to turn contracts into confetti.
What’s more interesting is what will Liverpool’s management reaction be, and that of the Liverpool fans?
Suarez is Liverpool’s most potent attacking weapon, and the club will be the poorer if drastic action is taken.
Even though the Liverpool brand is strong internationally, and it doesn’t need a black mark dirtying the linen.
But that still doesn’t answer the question why Suarez is a compulsive biter?
Just as why did Mike Tyson take a huge hunk out of Evander Holyfield’s ear in that infamous world heavyweight title fight in Atlanta in June, 1997.
Referee Mills Lane, a showpony if ever there was one, disqualified Tyson on the spot, and he subsequently lost his boxing license.
The right decisions.
Nowhere near as serious are the “squirrel grip” rugby league and rugby footballers.
Souths Sam Burgess copped two matches for a “squirrel grip” tackle last year against the Storm.
Burgess claimed he didn’t mean to grip. But if a defender’s hand is on an attacker’s family jewels, there was no calling to grip.
A pathetic excuse.
In the Rugby World Cup final in 1999, the French embarked on a “squirrel grip” and eye gouging campaign until Wallaby skipper John Eales warned South African referee Andre Watson if he didn’t stop the French and their illegalities, Eales was going to walk the Wallabies off the field and Watson would be left to explain to the IRB why only half the finalists were on duty.
The Wallabies stayed put, Watson started penalising the French as he should have done earlier, and the Wallabies romped away with their second Rugby World Cup.
So let’s sit back and see what FIFA does with Luis Suarez, and how long they take to do it.
My bet is FIFA’s president Sepp Blatter will milk the Suarez case for all it’s worth.
With a bit of luck that will be Blatter’s last hurrah before the round ball sport gives him the long overdue flick.
In the meantime, Luis Suarez had better have a meaningful chat with his bank manager.
JimmyB
Guest
Puritanical England?!? Lol
bryan
Guest
He is a grown man,he should know better! That said,some of the penalties suggested strike me as being over the top. A bite is annoying & childish,but it doesn't put the other player out of commission for weeks,like some of the "contacts" made in the AFL,even if many of them are quite innocent. Most of dear old "Bazza Hall's" pugilistic efforts,luckily for him,didn't result in any lasting injury to his opponents,unlike some other incidents between players,but he was embarrassing enough to be dropped by the Sydney Swans. Lots of suspensions over his career,but he still didn't learn!---again,childish!
AR
Guest
Would you call that attitude disgraceful or acceptable?
Griffo
Roar Guru
Probably as rational an explanation as you're ever going to get on this subject...
Knightblues
Guest
feed the man a steak or a kebab before every game to take his mind off people
TheCelt
Guest
Not too baffling to me Chris. My take was that by biting he would have provoked an elbow to the face and get a penalty! Nearly worked!
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Wobbly love the irony of opening your diatribe with "You sound like a sour kraut" and ending with "Don’t play the man, play the ball". Thanks for the pity. As the great 90's philosopher, George Costanza once observed: "Pity's very underrated. I like pity. It's good." Nice to know you are watching football, notwithstanding your extreme hate for The Beautiful Game. Every pair of eyes brings in more TV dollars for AUS football. See you in 4 years.
Steve Kerr
Roar Rookie
I mentioned this on another thread, but back at the start of the World Cup, the Uruguayans were accusing the England team of arranging to have ants put in their hotel beds. It does seem like we are dealing with men who operate on the mental level of maladjusted toddlers
Wobbly
Guest
Fussball - You sound like a sour kraut. I'm not Stevo. This was my one and only forum comment on this whole wacko affair. I have as much right as anyone else to comment on it and I don't think my comments disparage any aspect of Australian soccer. On the contrary I pity Australian soccer. Don't play the man, play the ball. Feel free to provide your angle on the biting incident and the other shameless episodes I mention.
Darwin Stubbie
Guest
FIFA have stated they'll deal with this rapidly ... Sepp as zero to with it - god only knows why he even gets a mention My feeling is he'll get about 15 - 20 weeks ... but (from a totally selfish POV) seeing I'll be at the game - I hope he gets off ... come on Columbia !!
Stevo
Roar Rookie
I can assure you it is not me :)
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Correct. He knew what he done and he had to distract attention away from it by feigning a cop to the head from Chiellini. Age old tactic.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
It's the attitude of "what ever it takes". In Australia it was the mantra of Essendon FC and James Hird towards winning games (at the expense of player welfare).
bilbo
Guest
Transylvania
Punter
Guest
I like it.
Punter
Guest
But, but, it was my mother's medication I took by accident.
sheek
Roar Guru
Gidday David, I'm just amazed at Uruguay attempting to defend the indefensible. An England/Italian conspiracy? Photoshop manipulation?? Are they serious???
TK
Guest
He should be playing for Hungary.
Kane Cassidy
Roar Guru
Unsurprising considering Lord called football a "Joke" I wonder if I'd be able to write an article based on personal poor opionion next time a union or cricket player stuffs up.
AR
Guest
What on earth are you talking about? My comment was about Suarez biting and the Uruguayan reaction. Your response was akin to "yeah well they're all drug cheats in the AFL!!!" (insert whatever emoticon is appropriate)...as though that was in any way connected to the topic on this thread. Go and have a lie down. Your posts have been increasingly unhinged of late.