FIFA defended the "harsh punishment it handed down" to Uruguay striker Luis Suárez for biting an opponent during the World Cup, "despite complaints on Friday from his coach, politicians and even the man he bit that the record penalty was excessive," according to Collett & Schomberg of REUTERS. FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said that Suárez's "previous misdemeanors on the pitch had been taken into account." The player was banned "twice before for biting during club games." Valcke: "If it's the first time, it's an incident. More than once, it is not any more an incident" (REUTERS, 6/27).
VALCKE RECOMMENDS TREATMENT: Collett & Schomberg reported in a separate piece Valcke said, "He should go for a treatment. I don't know if it exists but he should do something by himself because it's definitely wrong" (REUTERS, 6/27).
SUAREZ SPEAKS OUT: BLOOMBERG's Tariq Panja reported Suárez said that he "lost his balance and accidentally fell face first into Italy's Giorgio Chiellini." Suárez said in a "written submission to FIFA's disciplinary panel" that the incident "was accidental" (BLOOMBERG, 6/28). In London, Mark Cue reported Uruguay captain Diego Lugano accused FIFA of an act of "barbarity" that breaches Suárez's "human rights." Lugano: "He has committed a crime, but this [ban] is barbarity. Not even a criminal would receive this penalty" (SUNDAY TIMES, 6/29). In Barcelona, Francesc Aguilar reported Suárez's lawyer, Alejandro Balbi, "indicated that his client will take his case" to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The "Uruguayan Federation does not have much hope for success in the appeal that has been presented to FIFA, and because of this, it is preparing with its lawyers a presentation of the case to the CAS" (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 6/29).
