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Luis Suarez has always been a polarising figure in the world of football, but his most defining moment as the sport’s pantomime villain was arguably during Italy and Uruguay’s World Cup 2014, when the ex-Liverpool and current Barcelona player sunk his teeth into the shoulder of defender Giorgio Chiellini, later receiving a lengthy ban for doing so.
However, now FIFA’s VP of appeals Fernando Mitjans is claiming that Chiellini blew the incident out of proportion in order to intentionally get Suarez sent off, claiming that a private meeting FIFA held with the player following the match saw Chiellini admit that he had “exaggerated” Suarez’s actions.
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According to FOX Deportes, Mitjans said of the incident and Suarez’s subsequent ban from football: “Suarez case was legal madness. They took into account things he did in Holland, in England, and in Brazil.”
He continued: “Chiellini told us: it was nothing, it was like a kiss I give my girlfriend. I exaggerated to get Suarez sent off.”
Mitjans also added that Chiellini included a photo of his girlfriend in his statement by mail, with the FIFA judge commenting that “the Swiss were shocked”.
If Mitjans is to be believed (though footage of the event would certainly suggest that Suarez is guilty as charged), then the lengthy ban handed to Suarez was a result of FIFA taking into account his previous controversial behaviour, rather than specifically focusing upon the Chiellini incident. While that would be of small comfort to Suarez if true, it could at least serve to clean up his reputation in the eyes of a few of his detractors. However, even if Chiellini did inform FIFA that he had exaggerated his injury, there would no doubt still have been a punishment for the Uruguayan player given that the whole world witnessed him sink his teeth into the Italian’s shoulder.
