In the 67th minute of Sunday’s 2-2 home draw with Chelsea, Liverpool striker Suarez grabbed Branislav Ivanovic’s arm in the box and bit down to try and take a chunk out of it!
The incident was unnoticed by referee Kevin Friend who was confronted by the Serbian captain who was enraged signaling that the Uruguayan international had bitten his arm and tried to show him the teeth marks.
However, Luis Suarez appeared to sarcastically clap at the referee after he quizzed him on the incident play acting that he was hurt when it was obvious he was cowardly trying to cover up this inexplicable act.
Suarez had a hero/villain performance rolled into one had the last laugh in the 97th minute when he headed in the equalizer with the last attack of the game. He wasn’t going to escape what was about to come after though, perhaps his last act in a Liverpool shirt.
No-one can deny that Suarez is a world class player, his stats tell their own stories; 30 goals in 44 appearances this season, he is top scorer in the Premier League with 23 goals. He also has 51 in 96 appearances for Liverpool since he joined from Ajax for 22.7 million in January 2011 and is a one in two man for his country with 31 goals in 62 matches. He is Liverpool’s crown jewel and they will not want to sell him this summer.
You cannot condone his sort of behavior on a football pitch. There were millions of people around the world watching this match including children and this is unacceptable and he is a role model and is behaving in a way that two year-olds wouldn’t behave.
The worst thing of all is that he has done this before. In November 2010 he was given a 7-match ban in Holland while playing for Ajax after biting PSV’s Ottman Bakkal in the shoulder.
How can he be a genius and not learn from his mistakes? This was a major incident in a catalogue in what has been a controversial career. When he was only 15, playing for Uruguayan club Nacional, he once head-butted a referee when he was angry. The ref had to leave the pitch with a bloody nose.
His international career started with an altercation with a referee, on his debut against Columbia in 2007 he was sent off for dissent. When he joined Ajax that same year he was suspended for being involved in a half-time bust up with his own player Albert Luque.
In the World Cup 2010 quarter-finals against Ghana, he handballed a clear goal off the line which resulted in him being sent off, but then Ghana missed the resulting penalty eventually meaning that Uruguay would go on to the semi-finals and finish fourth.
After joining Liverpool on transfer deadline day in 2011 with Fernando Torres going the opposite way for £50 million to Chelsea; he has been the most talked about player in the league.
In December 2011 he was given an 8-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. He then refused to shake his hand when the two sides met in February 2012. This season he has been accused of diving, stamping, handballing and finally last but not least biting.
Suarez is a player who plays on the edge and is a unique talent but he is somebody that is overshadowed by past controversies and will need to rid himself of this attitude if he wants to stay in England. They may want to sell him though.
Liverpool has released a statement saying they have fined him but they still insist they want to keep him at the club. The football club is now waiting to see what the retribution will be for this but one thing’s for sure I don’t think he’ll play more this season.
Rodgers will work with Suarez and have anger management sessions. The police have not decided to make any enquires because Branislav Ivanovic has decided not to press any charges against him.
Luis Suarez was the hot favourite for PFA player of the year which he can probably forget about now. He might have to forget about his Liverpool career if one of the European giants like Juventus or Bayern come calling for him. It will come at a hefty price tag, with the striker valued at £40 million in today’s market and is an option the Liverpool owners might pursue.
Suarez grew up in a win at all costs football culture in Uruguay, who is a proud footballing nation where these things are not taken as seriously as they are in England. He has to learn that this sort of behavior must stop now or it’ll be punished by exile.
By Petar Gril
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