In the 79th minute of Uruguay vs. Italy, with the match tight in Natal, Luis Suárez leaned over Giorgio Chiellini’s left shoulder and sank his teeth into him. 🫢 Mexican referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez did not see the incident. Chiellini pulled down his shirt to show the mark, but play continued. Uruguay won 1-0 and advanced to the round of 16.
What came next was historic. FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings, reviewed the footage and, just 48 hours later, handed him one of the harshest sanctions seen at a World Cup: a nine-match official suspension with the national team, four months away from football-related activities, and a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs, equivalent at the time to about 112,000 dollars. Suárez left the team camp and returned to Montevideo while his teammates remained in Brazil. 🛫
It was not the first time: he had already bitten Otman Bakkal during his time at Ajax, in 2010, and Branislav Ivanović while playing for Liverpool, in 2013. Four years after the incident with Chiellini, IFAB expressly included biting in Law 12 as an offense punished with a straight red card. Although the provision does not officially bear Suárez’s name, his case remains the most remembered example. 📋