Suarez – Seriously?
- Updated: July 1, 2014
I guess I just don’t understand.
Uruguay’s President Jose Mujica has scolded FIFA for their punishment of Luis Suarez. His initial statement was that Suarez was being punished for his “humble beginnings.”
Really? I hadn’t thought of that.
Mujica went on to agree that Suarez did deserve to be punished for his action, saying; “They could have punished him but not given him this fascist ban.”
Fascist ban? Huh. I hadn’t thought of that either.
When asked what his lasting memory of this World Cup would be, he replied; “FIFA are a bunch of old sons of bitches.”
Ok. I can accept that.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has stepped up to the podium on this topic as well. He sees the whole ban as retribution against Uruguay for knocking out England and Italy from the World Cup. “They can’t forgive Uruguay that a son of the people has eliminated two of football’s big nations, so they invented a whole case.” He provided further clarification noting that; “It’s very painful this disproportionate punishment that FIFA has taken against Luis Suarez, a great striker who belongs to all of us in South America.”
Argentine great Maradona has weighted in on this as well, saying; “The FIFA sanction is shameful, they have no sensitivity towards the fans, they might as well handcuff him and throw him in Guantanamo.” He also pointed out another sneaky reason for the ban; “The sanction on Luis is a way of punishing Uruguayan clubs for asking CONMEBOL (the South American confederation) for a fairer share of money. It hurts that they have cut short the career of a lad who is a winner. It’s an excessive suspension, FIFA cannot talk about morals to anyone.”
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez says Suarez is a “scapegoat”
More and more I’m thinking this is not about biting people you are playing against because you are frustrated by them, or that you just simply . . . don’t like.
Oscar Tabarez, the Uruguay coach provided his view of the punishment is that the “English-speaking” news media have pressured FIFA into taking this action since Suarez is the “preferred target” of the English press. He added; “This is a football World Cup, not about morality, cheap morality.”
I think I’m beginning to understand that FIFA is a puppet of the English-speaking press, and they have picked out Suarez because he is an easy target because of his humble beginnings and he doesn’t know how to fight back. All of it really just a way to punish Uruguay for trying to get more money from CONMEBOL, in all fairness, and I guess the English-speaking press REALLY just hates that!
There is so much more to this than I had thought!
Or is there?
I’m pretty sure you all know that this is the third time Suarez has bitten an opponent on the field of play, right? Here is the FIFA statement regarding the ban issued June 26, 2014:
· The player Luis Suarez is regarded as having breached art. 48 par. 1 lit. d of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) (assault), and art. 57 of the FDC (an act of unsporting
behaviour towards another player).
· The player Luis Suarez is to be suspended for nine (9) official matches. The first match of this suspension is to be served in the upcoming FIFA World Cup™ fixture between Colombia and Uruguay on 28 June 2014. The remaining match suspensions shall be served in Uruguay’s next FIFA World Cup match(es), as long as the team qualifies, and/or in the representative team’s subsequent official matches in accordance with art. 38 par. 2a) of the FDC.
· The player Luis Suarez is banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) for a period of four (4) months in accordance with art. 22 of the FDC.
· A stadium ban is pronounced against the player Luis Suarez in accordance with art. 21 of the FDC as follows: the player Luis Suarez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium during the period of the ban (point 3). The player Luis Suarez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium in which the representative team of Uruguay is playing while he has to serve the nine-match suspension (point 2).
· The player Luis Suarez is ordered to pay a fine in the amount of CHF 100,000 (approximately $112,350.00 U.S.).
The decision was notified to the player and the Uruguayan FA today.
“Such behaviour 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. The Disciplinary Committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suárez’s guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code. The decision comes into force as soon it is communicated,” said Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
Is the punishment fitting? That’s the question. What about guys that have broken more than one opponents leg? Or someone who has broken more than one nose? Is this worse than those kinds of repeated incidents?
I believe that biting another human being is a disgusting thing to do. Mike Tyson comes to mind. The action essentially announced the end of his career. Did anyone of you think that was anything other than a disgusting thing to do? Would anyone want to get into the ring with that guy again?
The answer I think is yes, and yes. At the end of the day it’s about the money. Getting in the ring with Mike Tyson could have been a big payday for an opponent. Suarez makes a lot of money. Liverpool paid a lot of money for him. I’m sure a lot of his money goes to Uruguay banks, and family. We have seen players break rules time and time again, and if they are top talent, they are given chance after chance to redeem themselves.
Biting seems to me to be an ultimate childish behavior for an adult. It certainly signals a troubled mind – or perhaps an infantile mind. It could be more sinister. Remember Marv Albert? He was a sportscaster that was charged in a sexual assault case (1997) in which he bit a woman repeatedly. Turned out, there had been more than one instance of this behavior. It was very sick behavior, and he was out of broadcasting for many years. Suarez is not being charged with any kind of legal action against him.
Child cries
When a young child bites another child in school (pre-school age is the most common time for this behavior) the child will be separated from the others, and the parents will be informed. Typically a second incident will have the child sent home. A third incident and the child will be expelled from the school. Other schools are not so tolerant, and the child may be expelled after a second incident. Who wants their child to play with another that has a biting problem?
Uh. Yea. What league wants their players to play with another player who is known to have a biting problem?
Suarez on the other hand appears to be at the top of his game. He has an amazing talent. We all know he flops, dives, calls for cards against other players who really did nothing. Oh, and remember, his handball and red card at the 2010 World Cup resulted in a win for his team when it seemed sure that Ghana would win. He consistently breaks the rules of soccer, and consistently fakes fouls to gain an advantage over his opponents. He will do anything to win. In short – he cheats. He cheats the game, his opponents, and the fans of the game.
And we know he bites. My guess is that there has been more than three such incidents in his career.
I just wish that at all times he would play the game the way it is meant to be played. He is brilliant at the game.
But here he is at the center of a controversy that actually permeates all of sports. Look at hockey. it can be a crazy brutal game. The old saying that “I went to the Friday night fights and a hockey game broke out” has a loud ring of truth. So much of what I see happen on the rink would be a crime on the street. But there is money at stake, and so it keeps happening, and fans love it.
Giorgio Chiellini and Suarez
Biting though? Not much tolerance for that.
So, poor Suarez is apparently being persecuted by the English-speaking folk of the world. Even his victim, Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini feels the punishment Suarez has received is harsh.
I guess that’s why I just don’t get it. I thought I understood, but I don’t.
Once again, the game of soccer, football, reflects everything about life. The differences of opinion based on our cultural lives, our background and experiences, our religion, our values, are highlighted in the responses to this incident.
I guess that’s another reason we love the game. It’s about life itself.
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