Thursday, March 28, 2024

What the FIFA? Luis Suarez's "ban" is convenient for him

July 6, 2014
<p></p>

After shocking the world with his third biting transgression on the pitch, Luis Suarez will be allowed to make the move he may have been angling toward for quite some time.

The Liverpool striker is set to transfer to Barcelona and the move will earn Liverpool over £72 million. Fans should feel a little cheated with the move, not only because FIFA is contradicting its own stipulations of Suarez’s recent ban from “all footballing activity,” but because Suarez is far from apologizing to Liverpool for his conduct.

Instead, he is running to Barcelona without a backward glance. The very least he could do is answer his club’s unwavering loyalty with some small amount of respect.

It’s frustrating to see Suarez so intent on leaving Liverpool after all the support the club and its fans have given him.

More than losing brilliant talent — and Suarez is a brilliant striker — Liverpool is losing a player it nurtured and protected through two severe incidents, both of which resulted in bans.

During his time at Liverpool, Suarez was accused of racial abuse against a Manchester United player, landing him an 8-match ban and later bit an Italian national team player, resulting in a ten-match ban.

It would be too narrow-minded to say Liverpool selflessly defended their wild card Suarez. The striker helped bring Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League and has been an amazing asset for the club.

As Suarez is one of its star players on the team, losing him is cause for alarm for Liverpool.

At this point, though, Suarez would have been out for a larger period of the upcoming season and he has wanted to leave Liverpool. The World Cup bite has conveniently put him on the fast track to getting that wish.

FIFA’s contradictions to its own punishments are ridiculous and seem to cater to the guilty.

The latest ban was fair when it was first issued — Suarez was to be barred from all football activity for four months.

This ban included World Cup matches with his national team of Uruguay, and the upcoming season with his Premier League club Liverpool.

While not being allowed to play in games was an obvious consequence, a ban from practices was assumed, and rightly so, considering that practicing football is “football activity.”

In the last week, however, FIFA has allowed the ban stipulations to exclude transfers, practices and a physical if he goes to a new team.

In this act, FIFA has essentially set him up for a great career move and a way out of Liverpool, which he’s been trying to do since mid-2013. FIFA isn’t punishing Suarez — they’re giving him a chance to painlessly move to Barcelona.

Not only does the whole situation make me question whether the bite was planned to push Liverpool to give him up, but it makes me wonder if FIFA had any inkling as to what Suarez was after.

The allowance of a transfer and a physical if it were to come to pass are conditions too specific not to wonder if Suarez’s bite was a means to an end, rather than a moment of rage on the field.

Katie Krall is a State News reporter. Reach her at kkrall@statenews.com.

Discussion

Share and discuss “What the FIFA? Luis Suarez's "ban" is convenient for him” on social media.