Suarez dilemma: FIFA opens case on bite incident
RIO DE JANEIRO - Luis Suarez could become just as awkward for football's international organizers to handle as he has been for rival teams at the World Cup.
The Uruguay forward's alleged bite into the left shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in a crucial group-stage game has hit a raw nerve at a tournament which has been characterized by a high quality of football and entertainment.
The consequences of Suarez's bite - just before Uruguay scored the clinching goal to knock out the four-time champion Italians - will now test FIFA president Sepp Blatter's often-stated commitment to "fair play, discipline, respect."
Blatter, who was in the crowd for the Uruguay-Italy match at Natal, has previously pledged a zero tolerance for the darker side of the game. Many are questioning where that leaves a player like Suarez, the star Liverpool striker who has a history of disciplinary problems.
In the early hours of Wednesday, FIFA announced it had opened a disciplinary case against the player.
The case will now be managed by Swiss lawyer, Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee. A former international forward himself, Sulser has worked for four years at FIFA, first as head of its ethics committee and now the disciplinary panel.
Sulser can choose to judge the obvious offense within the scale of typical red-card incidents: A three-match ban may then be appropriate, banishing Suarez at least until the World Cup final should Uruguay advance through the knockout rounds.
There's scope for a more severe sanction: under the guidelines a ban of up to 24 international matches could be applied.
Suarez and the Uruguay football federation had until 5 p.m. local time (4 p.m. EDT/2000 GMT) to present a case for the defense.
FIFA stated it would call on video evidence, which surely will have pleased Blatter, a proponent of using video evidence in cases which on-field officials missed.
"Video evidence can be used for serious breaches of the principle of fair play such as brawling, spitting at opponents, verbal insults and racist slurs, or for incorrectly awarded red or yellow cards," he wrote in February.
Images of Chiellini pulling aside the sleeve of his Azzurri shirt on the field to show the referee the marks on his shoulder were broadcast around the world. FIFA also has access to footage from other angles and other parts of the field.