Photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia
So, the aptly named Cannibal of Ajax has been at it again.
I was watching the Liverpool vs Chelsea game on Sunday and was as amazed as the other 100 million viewers around the world when striker Luis Suarez appeared to sink his teeth into the arm of Branislav Ivanovic.
Suarez had been his customary self before the incident, buzzing around the pitch like a wasp, pouncing on any loose balls and trying to start attacks. However in the 73rd minute, as Steven Gerrard made a move down the right flank to cross the ball in, Suarez was unable to get past Ivanovic and appeared to bite the Chelsea defender on the arm out of sheer frustration.
Firstly, I can’t condone on pitch violence of any sort so if Suarez did actually bite Ivanovic, it’s tantamount to assault and the Liverpool forward may actually be prosecuted. Secondly, many people have looked at Suarez’s previous record, namely the bite at Ajax, and deemed him guilty already before even examining what actually may have happened to warrant such a reaction.
Suarez is no saint, but I personally believe that the incident was born entirely out of frustration at giving away the penalty and was a result of the player trying desperately to make amends. I’m not making excuses for Suarez, but the club may have to be very careful in it’s condemning of the Uruguayan.
Ian Ayre came out straight away and issued a statement saying the behaviour was unacceptable, Suarez was forced to apologize and Brendan Rodgers had no comment on the matter. Suarez may see this indictment of his behavior as the club not supporting him and if that’s the case, then he may well get fed up and will have no shortage of suitors come the summer transfer window eager to acquire his services.
Interestingly, there has also been precedent set by the FA recently with regard to similar incidents. In 2006, Jermain Defoe bit Javier Mascherano during a Premier League match and escaped a ban, therefore proceeding to ban Suarez would smack of hypocrisy by the FA.
Regardless of the player’s behavior, and this may appear controversial, Liverpool must soften their moral stance and do everything possible to support Suarez through the inevitable FA witch hunt that will follow.
Liverpool have to keep their best players in order to challenge for the Champions League and if that means not chastising Suarez in order to build a team around him, then Liverpool may well have to appear to be punishing Suarez internally when they are, in reality, giving the Uruguayan a little leeway so he continues to score goals in a red shirt.
James Hilton is a soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter , Facebook or add him to your network on Google
