It’s Jaws III!
Footballer with habit of biting players sinks his teeth into an Italian defender
THEY say that a leopard cannot change its spots.
The same, it seems, applies to international footballers with the habit of biting opponents.
Last night, Luis Suarez, the Liverpool striker who famously sank his teeth into a Chelsea player, was at it again.
The Uruguayan star bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup in Brazil.
And in a ludicrous attempt to divert attention from his actions, he threw himself to the floor holding his mouth – as if to indicate he was the one who was fouled.
It is the third time Suarez, 27, has bitten an opponent.
He earned himself the nickname the ‘Cannibal of Ajax’ after sinking his teeth into an opponent’s shoulder while playing for the Dutch club.
The latest incident, seen by millions on TV, led to calls for him to be sent home in disgrace. Afterwards, a shocked Chiellini could be seen complaining to other players, pulling down his shirt to expose what looked like a bloody bite mark on his left shoulder.
But i ncredibly, Suarez remained on the pitch after the referee took no action. A minute later, Uruguay scored the winning goal.
The bite could result in Suarez being banned for the rest of the World Cup if governing body Fifa takes retrospective action.
It comes a week after he was hailed a hero in his home country for scoring two goals against England that all but ended the team’s World Cup hopes.
After the match, BBC radio’s Conor McNamara claimed journalists from Uruguay were laughing and making pretend bite gestures.
Former England winger Chris Waddle said on BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘Suarez has to be severely punished.’
Pundit Danny Mills said: ‘Three strikes and you have to be out. Biting someone at a tournament of this prestige, they have to throw the book at him and lock him up for ever.’
Thousands of disgusted Twitter users called for Suarez to be banned from football. But others saw the funny side, posting doctored photographs of him with Dracula fangs.
Piers Morgan tweeted: ‘Does Suarez not eat before the game?’
Others asked if he thought that he was ‘playing for Hungary’.
Suarez, a married father of two, was suspended for seven games for biting PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal on the shoulder in 2010.
Last year, he received a ten-game ban after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.