Luis Suarez never got his hands on the World Cup but he did leave his mark on the tournament – and one opponent in particular. The Uruguay legend helped them reach the last 16 at the 2014 edition of the tournament but had to watch from afar as his nation was knocked out of contention.
Four years after his infamous handball against Ghana helped La Celeste reach the semi-finals in South Africa, he was back in the headlines in Brazil. His bite on Giorgio Chiellini was missed by the match officials during his side’s 1-0 win over Italy but didn’t go unseen by the watching world.
It was the third biting offence of his career and resulted in a nine-match international ban, as well as a four-month suspension from any football-related activity. And although the football suspension was later dropped so he could play for new club Barcelona, the ordeal left Suarez feeling “worse than a hooligan.”
“It’s been such a long time so I’m obviously very keen but I’m also relieved that it’s finally all over,” he recalled in an interview with El Observador in 2016 when his international ban finally expired. “The worst is behind me and now it’s time to enjoy playing for Uruguay again, which is what I’ve spent so long waiting for.”
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FIFA confirmed in its disciplinary report that Suarez’s previous two biting incidents playing for Ajax and Liverpool would be used as evidence. However, that didn’t make the pill any easier to swallow.
“I was treated worse than a hooligan, because banning someone from a football match, a training session, is just incomprehensible,” he added. “Four months without being able to play a competitive game and a two-year international ban is too much. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s almost worse than if I’d failed a doping test.”
Italy great Chiellini had the bite marks to show for his troubles. The incident was only made more painful by the fact Diego Godin went on to score the game’s only goal minutes later, knocking Italy out and taking Uruguay into the last 16 as a result.
View 2 ImagesGiorgio Chiellini attempted to show the referee the bitemark Suarez’s teeth had left on his shoulder(Image: AFP PHOTO/ YASUYOSHI CHIBA (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / AFP via Getty Images)
Many fans will consider justice served after La Celeste lost 2-0 in their first knockout clash against Colombia. James Rodriguez scored twice to take his team into the quarter-finals and later claimed the tournament’s Golden Boot.
It’s one of several stains on what was otherwise a glorious career for Suarez from a footballing perspective. In an era where Cristiano Ronaldo and team-mate Lionel Messi dominated the Ballon d’Or podium, Suarez still managed to shine as one of the elite strikers of his generation.
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The South American, who later made up with Chiellini, may have even got his hands on the biggest individual prize in football were he born in any other era. However, the popularity he may have lost as a result of his disciplinary struggles may have helped exclude him from such an accolade.
His old Uruguay team will not feature in the knockout stages of this year’s World Cup after a dismal group-stage exit under Marcelo Bielsa. They were once knockout regulars during Suarez’s generation and finished fourth in 2010 but may have enjoyed even more success were it not for his toothy transgressions.
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