Fifa comes down hard on Suarez

RIO DE JANEIRO—Uruguay star Luis Suarez exited the World Cup in shame Thursday after being hit with the heaviest suspension in the tournament’s history for biting an Italian opponent.

Suarez, who bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during his team’s Group D win on Tuesday, was slapped with an immediate worldwide four-month ban and fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000).

“Such behavior cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a Fifa World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field,” Fifa Disciplinary Committee chief Claudio Sulser said.

Football’s governing body imposed a four-month ban on all football activities, a nine-game international ban and the fine. The punishment took immediate effect, meaning Suarez misses Uruguay’s second round match against Colombia on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro.

Gambling website 888poker has “terminated its relationship” with Uruguay’s Luis Suarez following his biting the shoulder of Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini, the company announced in a statement Friday.

Their move to disassociate themselves from Suarez came a day after the Liverpool striker was sanctioned by Fifa.

“888poker signed Luis Suarez following a fantastic season for which his achievements were widely recognized,” the company said. “Regrettably, following his actions during Uruguay’s World Cup match against Italy on Tuesday, 888poker has decided to terminate its relationship with Luis Suarez with immediate effect.”

But Mariana Ramos, Adidas spokesperson in Sao Paulo, stopped short of saying the company would ax Suarez from its global roster of star sporting figures completely, telling AFP: “Future plans for after the World Cup will be revised once the tournament is over.”

Meanwhile Liverpool said they would make no immediate decision on Suarez’s Anfield future.

“Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the FIFA Disciplinary Committee report before making any further comment,” Ian Ayre, the club’s chief executive, said Thursday. AFP