Which game will you watch tonight?

[southbank1871]

Comparing Pepe's 'head-butt' with another bite from Suarez

I can only assume the reason Suarez does these things is to rile up the opposition players in order to gain an advantage, as they will lose focus and concentration. I'm guessing in his head, at the time, this justifies the things he does. It's probably no coincidence that soon after the latest biting incident, Uruguay scored from a corner. The Italian players were probably still incensed and so didn't do their jobs properly.

[tulip]

As a psychologist has suggested that Suarez's biting is a hardwired reaction to being under stress, this will always be a problem for him. He doesn't do it on purpose rather he can't help himself. So if it is considered to be totally unacceptable behaviour in football then he should not be allowed to play again. Punishment won't cure him!

[BR2]

I'm really not sure why you are defending the guy, Vic (or at least, contextualising his actions, and doing so wrongly).

Why is it seen as worse/disgsuting? Because, never mind football, biting is a socially totally unacceptable. It can cause injury, it's frankly a bit vile, and it has no place in the game at all. Whilst there are examples of players deliberately trying to injure one another, the majority of punches/butts/elbows are split-second rushs of blood, and not, like Suarez's biting, indicative of an underlying mental problem, and disregard for his fellow professionals.

He should have the book thrown at him. Liverpool will now sell him. If I was a rich owner I'd be tempted to sink a few million, for the sake of suspending him for as long as his international ban, and let him rot.

Just trying to bring a bit of balance to the argument.
Shouldn't punishment reflect the severity of the damage caused?
A little nick on the shoulder is hardly major damage.

Being brought up in a different era to you when fair play was (generally) everything I too regard spitting and biting as crass but we live in times when many of you on here go on about winning being what matters and how you get there is irrelevant.
Sport is now mainly professional in the sense that participants are paid but with professionalism comes win-at-all-costs so I don't think you can have it both ways.

[southbank1871]

your position on this is quite frankly embarassing.

This line could be used for most things tbf.

[BR2]

Comparing Pepe's 'head-butt' with another bite from Suarez

I can only assume the reason Suarez does these things is to rile up the opposition players in order to gain an advantage, as they will lose focus and concentration. I'm guessing in his head, at the time, this justifies the things he does. It's probably no coincidence that soon after the latest biting incident, Uruguay scored from a corner. The Italian players were probably still incensed and so didn't do their jobs properly.

You're a bit thick if you can't follow the argument.
A head-butt (which Pepe has done before and is relevant because he has done it at this World Cup)is likely to cause far more damage than a nick on the shoulder.
BTW the idea that Italians were incensed is laughable when you consider their past record and the sneaky (to use Cellini's phrase) deeds that they have perpetrated over the years.

[BR2]

The main topic of conversation this morning in the office concerns that incident.
With the Press talking of 2 years as a ban (and not talking about England's abysmal performance in this World Cup)I was wondering not about English rugby players gouging players' eyes or biting ears off but the prospect of Suarez being a serial offender.

Over the years we have had Roy Keane, Patrick Viera, Paul Scholes, Joey Barton in our game and Pepe, Sergio Ramos,Gary Medel etc. all getting sent off on many occasions for trying to ( or actually doing so) inflict serious injuries on other players whether that be elbowing, head-butting or over-the-top career threatening tackles.
Pepe was sent off the other day for attempted head-butting and will get a 3-game ban, a head-butt being liable to cause a fractured cheek bone or eye socket.
He has done this before so should he get longer, in the same way as Suarez is thought to warrant longer?

We do have this strange idea that verbal abuse, spitting or biting are in some way worse offences than being reckless in going over the ball, in elbowing , head-butting or punching somebody in the kidney area of the back (all of which can cause serious damage) with the latter taking place regularly at set-pieces.
The spitting or biting can only cause very minor damage so shouldn't the treatment of the offender be actually less than for those other offences and not more?

With our Press being up in arms and grateful for a story to write after England's dull efforts I wonder if the foreign Press and more importantly FIFA see this incident in the same light-I would expect some sort of ban but nothing like what has been suggested.
Incidentally the irony is that Suarez has so far not been sent off in English football-the bloke is clearly a head-case, as are the earlier mentioned players, but I suspect that Ciellini and Ivanovic have done far worse in their time that could have caused more severe damage to their victims.
With any ban likely only to apply to International matches I now expect Suarez to be at Real Madrid, Barcelona or PSG next season with Liverpool having the very difficult task of replacing such a gifted player.

What a ridiculous response - if this had been Van Persie or Terry BITING a player for the THIRD time in his career, you'd be screaming blue murder.

Sanguine has outlined why it's different already - simply not acceptable on the football field. The other types of incident are generally 'heat of the moment' occurences, even the most placid player has occasionally put in an over-zealous tackle when the red mist descends. But BITING a player is a deliberate action, not a response (Chiellini swinging his elbow is a response, as you or I would do if some savage was trying to bite us).

It's really not worth comparing to other incidents, but I'd pick two Man Utd examples as I know you're a fan...

Roy Keane's tackle on Haaland, a belated act of retribution, was an 8-match ban and a £150,000 fine (so, similar to Suarez's first biting offence), which seems reasonable. Did Roy Keane put in more heavy tackles, yes, but was he ever found guilty of deliberately trying to injure another player, no.

Eric Cantona's infamous karate kick - a nine-month worldwide ban for something that (similar to Saurez) could've been worthy of police intervention if it happened on the street. If he'd have repeated such an incident, I'm sure a life-long ban would've been imposed.

As for the British press - they've already spent the last three/four days laying into the England side which Suarez so classily dispatched last week. It's not choosing a story to pick on, it is reporting on a sensational incident - no player has ever bitten three separate opponents, and certainly not on such a grand stage.

Suarez has no defence, and your position on this is quite frankly embarassing.

Embarrassing to whom?
Open your mind a bit rather than just follow the herd and lynch mob mentality, it might do you some good.

[jd82]

Spitting on someone doesn't cause any "damage", neither for that matter does verbal abuse. Should they be viewed as a lesser offences?

[southbank1871]

I don't think anyone is suggesting that violent conduct on the football pitch is acceptable either, in fact extreme incidents of this nature have been punished severely over the years (off the top of my head Keane, Thatcher, Duncan Ferguson going to prison).

This is the third time that Suarez has bitten someone on the football pitch, the third time. Are you seriously suggesting it should just be a slap on the wrist? If he didn't play for Liverpool and particularly if he played for Man Utd, you would be advocating a life ban.

[Whatevs]

on the positive side you may get a 10pager out of a total non-entity of a thread....you should be grateful

[soggy biscuit]

Comparing Pepe's 'head-butt' with another bite from Suarez

I can only assume the reason Suarez does this to rile up the opposition players in order to gain an advantage, as they will lose focus and concentration. I'm guessing in his head, at the time, this justifies the things he does. It's probably no coincidence that soon after the latest biting incident, Uruguay scored from a corner. The Italian players were probably still incensed and so didn't do their jobs properly.

If he thought it through beforehand he would know the potential fall out. As I said last time he did this, I can only assume its as a result of not being fully in control of his emotions when he gets so worked up.

I am probably very much in the minority but I actually feel quite sorry for Suarez right now

[southbank1871]

No I feel pretty sorry for him too actually, he's clearly a man with some serious issues.

[Sanguine]

Bet his wife is giving him one hell of a beating, she was apparently furious last time.

[Sutekh]

The bloke's an idiot. Just when it looks like he's at last grown up and learned and put all the stupid things behind him he goes an does it again.

FIFA should fling the book at him and ban him from all levels of football for 12 months. Perhaps also even consider throwing Uruguay out of the WC and re-instating Italy.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

The bloke's an idiot. Just when it looks like he's at last grown up and learned and put all the stupid things behind him he goes an does it again.

FIFA should fling the book at him and ban him from all levels of football for 12 months. Perhaps also even consider throwing Uruguay out of the WC and re-instating Italy.

WTF?

[Ouroboros]

I am probably very much in the minority but I actually feel quite sorry for Suarez right now

I feel sorry for him too.

Nice to see Ian Wright pipe up to raise the possibility that Suarez might actually need psycholgical help.

[Flyingkiwi]

FIFA should fling the book at him and ban him from all levels of football for 12 months.

They won't do that. Liverpool would sue their arses off.

Perhaps also even consider throwing Uruguay out of the WC and re-instating Italy.

Why??

[Royalclapper]

Wouldn't be surprised if the punishment was on the lenient side when FIFA decide the outcome for the persecuted and tortured soul that is Suarez.

Think Zidane got a few grand fine and 3 game ban for that headbutt on Materazzi although he was retiring anyway. He didn't have the previous of Suarez of course but FIFA usually try and fudge these things rather than be severe. IIRC correctly Materazzi also got fined for his inflammatory sister comments.

Loving the usual skullduggery that the S.Americans specialise in, some Uruguay officials have been blaming the British Media for hyping up the incident - even though the World's Media are also jumping on it, could it be that they know FIFA have just had a beef with the British Media and are looking for some sympathy and leverage

[jd82]

Love the line coming from Uruguay camp, asking whether you'd rather get bitten or have your leg broken.

Umm, neither if you don't mind.

[Sanguine]

Dr. Thomas Fawcett, a psychologist, after the Ivanovic incident.


“In Luis Suarez’s situation I’m afraid he’s got a flawed character. He’s very vulnerable to high-intense emotional situations, particularly in high level football, and he’s got an inability to control or self-regulate his responses.”

“It’s an impulse response, it’s an absence of thought when he does it. It’s basically is a negative behaviour response to his anger, annoyance, frustration, irritability etc. It’s his only outlet that he has. Other players elbow people, kick people, head-butt people. Suarez is a biter."

“It’s not pre-planned – it’s a very spontaneous, emotional response. He’s doing it on impulse,” says the psychologist, who has studied the footage extensively.

Most often biting is a sign of frustration. A negative response when tensions reach boiling point, he says.

“It’s in the man,” he says. “I would think that in five years’ time if there was a certain nerve hit or chord rung with Suarez in a different situation he would react in the same way.”

[Pepe the Horseman]

So we should be trying to help him, not punish him.