With Luis Suarez’s move to the Catalan capital apparently nearing completion, the disgraced Uruguayan striker has apologized for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini as La Celeste knocked the former World Cup champions out at the Group Stage.
FIFA, who took a very dim view of the incident, slapped the Premier League Player of the Season with an unheard of four month ban from both international and domestic action. Alongside that, the 27-year old will be unable to train with whatever team he currently plies his trade for or even enter a football stadium. Of course, that prompted questions as to why Liverpool, a side which had nothing to do with the incident, was being punished more than Uruguay — or even punished at all — but it’s looking like Suarez won’t be their problem by the time the transfer window slams shut.
Despite all the biting and the banning, Spanish giants Barcelona remained interested in bringing Suarez to the Nou Camp with an offer of £50mil plus World Cup star Alexis Sanchez the offer du jour. Liverpool are known to retain an interest in the dynamite Chilean attacker, though rumour has it that he’d prefer a move to London rather than Merseyside as Arsenal continue to keep a close eye on the 25-year old.
One of the major stumbling blocks keeping the Catalan outfit from making an official bid has been the players reluctance to issue an apology. His explanation — that he loss his balance and his teeth landed on Chiellini’s shoulder — didn’t quite cut the mustard, hence the decision to fess up and promise to be a good boy from here on out. While some, including the president of Uruguay, might find their faces getting slightly redder at his half-hearted admission, there’s little doubt that the damage has already been done with a FIFA official confirming that Suarez was given more matches than initially planned since he showed no remorse for his actions.
Although this latest bit of mellow-drama isn’t likely to reduce his ban, it could very well be an important step in his eventual move away from Anfield — something that will likely be best for all parties involved.
