Fifa investigation into Suarez ‘bite’ enters second day

The Uruguay forward is claimed to have sunk his teeth into Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini and the World Cup organisers are expected to reach a decision on Thursday over a suspension


Thursday is expected to see a verdict in Fifa’s disciplinary investigation of Luis Suarez’s alleged bite on Giorgio Chiellini.

With Uruguay having progressed to the World Cup second round by beating Italy 1-0, football’s governing body began deliberations on Wednesday in the hope of reaching a quick verdict.

“We have to resolve it either today or tomorrow,” Martin Hong, a member of Fifa’s disciplinary panel, told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s our duty to see justice done.”

Fifa confirmed that the disciplinary committee began deliberations on Wednesday evening and Wilmar Valdez, president of the Uruguayan FA, told the press: “What we know is they met for a long time. We don’t know if that’s a good or a bad situation.”

The deadline for Suarez and Uruguay to present their defence was late on Wednesday evening, with time short for a decision to be reached.

Should the forward appeal any ban handed out, Fifa might be forced to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in order to reach a binding verdict before Uruguay’s round-of-16 meeting with Colombia.

A suspension of “fewer than three matches or of up to two months,” however, could not be appealed as per Fifa rules.

If Fifa were to judge the incident on the scale of normal red-card offences, a suspension could stretch between three and 24 international matches, but the organisation also has the option of a club and international ban of up to two years.

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