Luis Suarez Banned 10 Games [VIDEO]: Liverpool Star Bites Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic During Match, Extended Suspension for Violent Conduct
During a Sunday Premiere League match between host Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC, Luis Suarez of the home team bit Branislav Ivanovic on the pitch. On Wednesday the English Football Association decided to ban the Liverpool striker from playing for ten games. This suspension comes after an independent panel of three men ruled that the violent conduct warranted more than the normal three-game ban.
Some people are pretty amazed that the Liverpool organization is "shocked" after the announcement of the ban. The team's website stated: "Suárez took swift action on Sunday to make an unreserved apology for his behaviour and accepted the charge of violent conduct from the FA."
The three-man panel that decided on the ban concluded that a normal three-game suspension was "clearly insufficient" considering what went down. This actually is not the first time that Luis Suarez has been suspended for biting an opponent. In 2011, he received the nickname "Cannibal of Ajax" after biting an opponent's collar bone. He was banned for seven games in this instance.
Suarez has until Friday to appeal against the addition of seven games to his suspension. Tomorrow, reasons for the 10-game ban will be given to Liverpool in writing.
The apology made by Suarez to Ivanovic was a phone call after the match. While the Chelsea defender appreciated the gesture, he did not accept the apology and is still pretty mad about the biting incident. Chelsea's goalkeeper Petr Cech said that his teammate is "not happy at all," but is moving on from the incident.
The referee for Sunday's match did not see the bite, but he did manage to allow six minutes of stoppage time. Chelsea's goalkeeper did not appreciate this in the least. He said:
"The referee is on the pitch to decide how much extra time there is ... it's unusual to have six minutes. I have to say that I have been a Chelsea player since 2004 and I have never had six minutes in my favour when I was losing. Obviously, you look at this and say: 'Why does this happen when I play away?' This is the referee's choice, it's his job to look for the extra time. We conceded in the last second and from our point, we have to do better next time."
The extra allotted time allowed for Suarez to score a game-equalizer in the 97th minute, which ended the game in a 2 to 2 draw between Chelsea and Liverpool.