Which game will you watch tonight?

[Silver Fox]

His issue is clearly with the size of his teeth. It's quite obvious he goes to stick the nut on Chiellini but as physics dict8s his gnashers have got there first.

Having said all that any biting Suarez did is nothing compared to Victor on this thread

[Ouroboros]

I think he is mentally ill

That's a bit harsh, he just gets defensive when Liverpool are criticised.

[Victor Meldrew]

His issue is clearly with the size of his teeth. It's quite obvious he goes to stick the nut on Chiellini but as physics dict8s his gnashers have got there first.

Having said all that any biting Suarez did is nothing compared to Victor on this thread

[PieEater]

Win at all costs, again.

[John Madejski's Wallet]

Absolutely brilliant last 30 mins in the Greece-Ivory Coast game

And such a cool, cool pen from Samaras

[MmmMonsterMunch]

Absolutely brilliant last 30 mins in the Greece-Ivory Coast game

And such a cool, cool pen from Samaras

Agree. Probably the best entertainment I've seen so far. Cracking stuff!

[mr_number]

Colombia game was really fun too - last goal in particular was great.

[TBM]

So 3mins was added on - the pen was given 30s into added time, they restart at 3mins in to added time and the whistle goes

Tad unfair if you ask me for the ref to not stop the watch

[paultheroyal]

So 3mins was added on - the pen was given 30s into added time, they restart at 3mins in to added time and the whistle goes

Tad unfair if you ask me for the ref to not stop the watch

Yep, that gets my goat too.

[double d]

So 3mins was added on - the pen was given 30s into added time, they restart at 3mins in to added time and the whistle goes

Tad unfair if you ask me for the ref to not stop the watch

Yep, that gets my goat too.

In USA Portugal game there was 4 mins added on but Portugal scored in 94th min and 47 seconds. Don't understand some inconsistency from refs. The Greece game should have done to 95 mins.

[Whatevs]

it's a minimum of 4 minutes you div

referee's discretion

[double d]

I know that, what I'm saying is that the Greece game should have been added on even more because of the long pause after the goal

[Flyingkiwi]

Not defending Suarez (believe it or not) but I can't see how you can bite somebody when you are running-I think it is physically impossible unless you are standing almost still.
No doubt we will see the incident time and again and the England players should be grateful that this story will now feature more in our Press than any discussion about our abysmal performance in the competition.

I was watching this nature documentary, like. And there was this lion. And there was this deer. And the deer was running flat tilt. And the lion was chasing him......

[soggy biscuit]

http://www.tv2.no/2014/06/24/sport/5741657

Bookie in Norway offered 175/1 on Suarez biting again. Man wins 17,000 kroner (£1700)

[soggy biscuit]

FIFA trialing bite line technology

[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.

[Sanguine]

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.

[Terminal Boardom]

Anyone remember Bloodgate where the rugby player got banned for 12 months for feigning a blood injury? The Head Coach got a 3 year ban. Cricketers have also received lengthy bans for match fixing. However, anything associated with football appears to be a totally different basket case where foul play gets one range of punishment whereas other infringements are dealt with differently. What goes against Suarez is that he has previous. I expect a 3 match ban and that will be about it.

[jd82]

Anyone remember Bloodgate where the rugby player got banned for 12 months for feigning a blood injury? The Head Coach got a 3 year ban. Cricketers have also received lengthy bans for match fixing. However, anything associated with football appears to be a totally different basket case where foul play gets one range of punishment whereas other infringements are dealt with differently. What goes against Suarez is that he has previous. I expect a 3 match ban and that will be about it.

Very confused post. He's got previous, but will get a short ban? Not comparable to blood gate at all. That was premeditated cheating, this was an "assault".

[Ginger Ninjas]

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.