Uruguayan player Luis Suarez has been officially charged by FIFA for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the teams' intense World Cup match, Al Jazeera reported. The news outlet said the punishment the world soccer organization would hand out to the Liverpool player could very well postpone his career in international football for a maximum of two years.
On Wednesday, FIFA confirmed that its disciplinary committee has launched an investigation on the incident, which was caught on international television. The probe was opened just hours after the end of Tuesday's match in Natal. FIFA has reportedly asked Uruguayan team officials to provide their evidence by 8PM GMT on Wednesday.
Should Suarez get a suspension from playing international football, it would not be the first time for the Uruguay football star, Al Jazeera noted. He was already suspended in the Netherlands and England before for also biting opposing players in matches.
Pundits believed that Suarez's camp would not be able to help the player out of this one considering the somewhat solid proof against him. Aside from the televised broadcast, of which in slow motion could see his head going towards Chiellini's shoulder, the Italian player also attempted to show referees that he was bitten, and red marks were visible on the broadcast. Al Jazeera said referee Marco Rodriguez of Mexico was unable to see the altercation and had taken no action.
In a statement, FIFA emphasized its authority to act on players' unsportsmanship conduct on the field. They said, "(FIFA has the power to act on) serious infringements which have escaped the match officials' attention."
FIFA's decision is crucial to Uruguay, who would be facing Colombia next in a second-round match at the Maracana stadium.
Suarez, when asked about the incident, fell short of confirming whether he had bitten Chiellini. However, he was quoted as saying that he was angry at Chiellini for hitting him in the eye during the game.
