Quote of the day
“They are treating Luis like a murderer and not like a footballer. There are murderers who pay less [for what they have done]. Not to let him be presented [by Barcelona], to train or to enter the stadium is too much.”
Aspas, who has been loaned to Sevilla for the forthcoming season, was speaking to the Spanish radio station Cadena Cope. He is among a growing number of current and former team-mates, managers, family members, close friends of Suarez and fellow Uruguayans, who believe the Barcelona forward has been harshly treated.
In case you have been living on a desert island for the past two months, Suarez was given a four-month ban from all football-related activities after he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in an unprovoked attack.
Those, including Aspas, who deem the punishment excessive, would do well to remember the defence statement submitted to FIFA by Suarez.
“In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite,” the forward wrote. “After the impact I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent.
“At that moment I hit my face against the player, leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth.”
Frankly, it was an insult to the 7-man disciplinary committee and one can see why their subsequent punishment might reflect the contempt he had shown them.
Also, lest we forget, this was not the first nor second time the forward had taken his frustrations out on an opponent by biting them. No, it was the third such incident – that we know of – and having not learned from the previous two sanctions, an exemplary punishment seemed the only choice available to the FIFA disciplinary committee.
If, that doesn’t work, as Chris Waddle memorably pointed out during the World Cup, the only recourse available would be to make Suarez wear a gumshield.
