Let’s state the obvious and get done with it – The bite wasn’t a pleasant thing to watch. It shouldn’t be a part of the game and definitely not come from a Liverpool player. It is indefensible.
But… was it as vile as the tabloids make it out to be? Some said they’ll never vote for him at the FOTY. Mail called Suarez ‘shameless’ in contesting the suggested more than 3-game ban. The word ‘cannibal’ is thrown around at every opportunity. Some said fine was alright but throw him out. Some said Tyson was banned for life, so should Suarez be. These tabloids appealed to supposed higher values at Liverpool FC to throw Luis out. My question is: if Liverpool were to sell him, would that mean that the buying club has lesser morals than LFC? And why did Luis do it? Yes he was frustrated and there could have been that incident that some reported happened in the tunnel. But if he wanted to hurt Ivanovic, wouldn’t he be better off elbowing or kicking him? Biting was a childish reaction. He plays his football with a child’s enthusiasm and energy and immunity to injury. He also gets frustrated and reacts like a child.
The ‘papers’ like to overstate things. ‘Suarez sunk his teeth’ – really? How do you define that? How many millimeters into the skin is ‘sinking’? Is there a measurement? Did his teeth really do any deeper than touching the outer layer of skin? Bite, tried to sink etc sounds right… ‘sink’ is downright exaggeration.
The photos and quotes from Suarez’s past ‘mistakes’ are so readily available with these ‘journalist’s’ that it would be classified as stalking if they were not journalists. The handball against Ghana? He was playing for his country, for f**k’s sake! How many wouldn’t do that? Lampard, Terry, and even Gerrard would have been lauded had they done that and they would have done that. How is the handball relevant in the biting case? Except it lets the ‘journalist’ tell himself (and no one else except the FA) that he is making a compelling point.
Luis Suarez was at fault. But he has never denied that. Even in the Evra case, he could have said he never uttered anything but he didn’t. There was no evidence and only Evra’s word against his. Given Evra’s past with false accusation, Luis could have come out scot-free. Even on Sunday he was first to admit his mistake. There’s a list of incidents far more dangerous and with far more malicious intent than his ‘bite’ and with far lesser punishments, none in some cases.
– Going two-footed to break someone’s leg, end their career in the guise of winning the ball – red card & a 3 game ban (none if the ref was playing an upbeat song on his iPod before coming on to the field)
– Swiping the elbow across someone’s face/nose/throat – No action (or yellow card depending on what the ref had for breakfast)
– Blatant racism caught on camera and seen all over the world – 4 game ban (increases to 8 if it is only alleged and can’t be seen on camera, could be more if someone on FA’s panel had a fight with his wife)
– Biting someone infront of the referee – yellow card and no ban (subject to the meal ref was offered and whether the player is British or not)
– Biting someone behind the referee – 10 game ban.
Well, here are things that Suarez could have done instead:
– could have broken Ivanovic’s legs
– could have broken his nose with the elbow
– could have called the referee to look in his direction before biting so the ban would only be 3 games. (Stupid Luis! He should have known better specially since the Prime Minister of the country he is playing in takes these matters so seriously.)
In a recent Europa game, Fernando Torres was kicked while lying on the ground and it broke his nose. While chasing a lost cause we see a player pushed into the advertising boards. Birmingham’s Martin Taylor broke a leg and was sent off and banned for 3 games. The recipient couldn’t play for a full year. Definitely none of them were as dangerous as Luis’ bite. Some say that a bad tackle is a part of the gameplay but biting isn’t. Not saying biting is but neither is abusive language, getting pushed into the advertising, elbow on the face, or even getting abuse from the fans.
Luis Suarez is family. So whoever says he should be thrown out of the club can, write that statement on a piece of paper, roll it, and shove it where it should be shoved. We don’t throw family out. We stand by them.
But in any case… to hell with broken legs, shattered kneecaps, bloodied noses and fractured skulls. Forget racism and fans throwing missiles on the pitch. A bite on the arm is the worst of all so give it the biggest reprimand of all. A gory severed prosthetic arm being waived on the television definitely makes better TV than a bite. Role-models? Let the kids learn to fly into an opponent’s knees and open your mouth only to shout ‘f****ng black c**t’. I can only wish you ill, FA.