Luis Suarez’s reputation lies in tatters again after the Liverpool striker appeared to bite Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s bad-tempered victory in Natal.
- Liverpool striker faces lengthly ban after clash with Italian defender Chiellini
- Suarez was hit with a ten-game suspension for biting Branislav Ivanovic
- Uruguay star was issued seven-game ban for a chomp on PSV’s Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax back in 2010
- Incident marred win in Natal as Diego Godin’s header sent them through
With just 12 minutes to go and the scores locked at 0-0 here, Suarez and Chiellini fell to the floor in the penalty area. Chiellini seemed absolutely incensed and replays soon showed why as Suarez was shown apparently attempting to dig his teeth in his opponents’ shoulder.
Uruguay went on to win the game 1-0 with a goal soon after from captain Diego Godin. They will now progress to the second phase at Italy’s expense.
However, whether Suarez plays any further part in the tournament remains to be seen. Last season’s FWA and PFA Player of the Year will certainly face a FIFA investigation and is likely to be hit with a retrospective ban.
He may well claim that his gesture was with his forehead rather than his teeth. Chiellini seemed in no doubt, however, as he appeared to show the Mexican referee marks on his shoulder.
Suarez, of course, spent ten games on the side lines in England 14 months after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic at Anfield.
Since then both Suarez and his club manager Brendan Rodgers have claimed that the Uruguayan has changed his ways and this week the South American even claimed the British media were persecuting him.
The events present all that as nonsense, however, and Suarez’s future back in England must now be in serious doubt once again.
On an afternoon of dire football here on the north-east coast, neither side really deserved to win.
The Italians, however, handed their opponents an advantage they refused to waste when their own midfielder Claudio Marchisio was sent off midway through the second half for a stamp at Cristian Rodriguez.
Given how much was at stake, it was perhaps not surprising that this game was rather tetchy and stilted in the first half. Nobody could have expected it to be quite as bad as it was, though, with neither team coming remotely close to scoring or even creating a worthwhile chance.
Italy would certainly have been the happier, given that they arrived here knowing that a draw would take them through. Nevertheless, the half of football they contributed here was even worse than that which saw them lost to Costa Rica in Recife last week.
Chief culprit for the Italians was Mario Balotelli who contributed one of those performances that makes you wonder what anybody ever sees in him. Having scored the winner against England in Manaus, he was less effective against Costa Rica but at least had a couple of decent efforts on goal.
Here he did nothing but conduct a running battle with Uruguayan defenders that saw one stand on his ankle early on, prompting Balotelli to gripe and moan all through the first period. Eventually his petulance got him a booking and he will miss his country’s next game. He was substituted at half-time and it was no surprise.
Andre Pirlo – as we would expect – did bring a save from Fernando Muslera midway through the half with one of those deceptive, floating free-kicks but that was as close as Italy came before the break.
As for Uruguay, they were hardly more progressive. Suarez had admitted on the eve of the game that he still wasn’t fully fit after knee surgery and he wasn’t at his best here.
He did work a decent one-two with Nicolas Ledeiro that prompted Gianluigi Buffon to save from both men in succession.
They were routine saves, though, and Uruguay’s frustration at being unable to develop any momentum was perhaps personified by defender Martin Ceceres’ attempt to score from 15 yards inside his own half in the 40th minute.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the ball drifted some distance wide of Buffon’s goal.
In to the second half and ultimately it too Marchisio’s red card to bring the game to life at all. Prior to that act of apparent madness, the afternoon had continued to drift.
Moments earlier Uruguay had fashioned a genuine chance and Rodriguez certainly should have done better than shoot across goal when played in down the left by Suarez.
It was Marchiso who made what threatened to be the defining contribution, though. Quite why he decided to raise his studs in to Rodriguez’s leg when he was in possession of the ball himself is anybody’s guess. What we did know, though, that referee Marco Rodriguez made the correct call and all of a sudden Italy were up against it.
Suarez almost increased Italian worries in the 66th minute as he dashed in to the area after Edinson Cavani’s shot had ricocheted in to his path. Buffon was equal to the low shot, though, extending a strong right arm to divert the ball round the post.
Italy – wary that time was beginning to work in their favour – did their best to disrupt an already bitty game further by time wasting and feigning injury. As the game entered its final 15 minutes, it appeared to be working, too, as there was precious little flow or apparent method to Uruguay’s game.
Soon enough they did score, the impressive Godin heading in from a corner with nine minutes left. By then, though, all attention had switched to Suarez. Uruguay are through but whether their number nine plays again in this tournament is very doubtful.
