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| Luis Suárez loses appeal against four-month biting ban but clear to train | Luis Suárez loses appeal against four-month biting ban but clear to train |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Luis Suárez has been cleared to make his debut for Barcelona on Monday after being allowed to train with his new team-mates and play in friendlies. | Luis Suárez has been cleared to make his debut for Barcelona on Monday after being allowed to train with his new team-mates and play in friendlies. |
| Although the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) has upheld the striker’s ban and fine for biting the Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup, Suárez has won a victory of sorts after the punishment was softened. | Although the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) has upheld the striker’s ban and fine for biting the Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup, Suárez has won a victory of sorts after the punishment was softened. |
| The 27-year-old remains ineligible to play in competitive matches during the four-month ban period, and his nine-game international suspension stays in place, but he will participate in training on Friday. | The 27-year-old remains ineligible to play in competitive matches during the four-month ban period, and his nine-game international suspension stays in place, but he will participate in training on Friday. |
| Suárez, who has been forced to train alone in a hidden area of Catalonia, can also now, belatedly, be presented as a Barcelona player when the club take on Mexico’s Club León in a pre-season friendly at Camp Nou. | |
| “The sanctions imposed on the player by Fifa have been generally confirmed,” Cas said in a statement, meaning the earliest the striker can return for Barcelona in a competitive fixture is 26 October when, as fate would have it, the club face Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in the first clásico of the season. | “The sanctions imposed on the player by Fifa have been generally confirmed,” Cas said in a statement, meaning the earliest the striker can return for Barcelona in a competitive fixture is 26 October when, as fate would have it, the club face Real Madrid at the Bernabéu in the first clásico of the season. |
| “However, the four-month suspension will apply to official matches only and no longer to other football-related activities (such as training, promotional activities and administrative matters).” | “However, the four-month suspension will apply to official matches only and no longer to other football-related activities (such as training, promotional activities and administrative matters).” |
| A Fifa spokesperson confirmed the ban “does not include friendly matches” at domestic or international level. | A Fifa spokesperson confirmed the ban “does not include friendly matches” at domestic or international level. |
| Suárez’s lawyer, Alejandro Balbi, successfully argued that Fifa had misapplied its own rules when considering the case and that the sanction it imposed on other football-related activities involving the Uruguayan was disproportionate. Suárez has yet to be photographed wearing a Barcelona shirt. | |
| The Catalan club will be without the striker, who joined from Liverpool for £65m in July, for eight league games and three Champions League matches, a punishment – in terms of games missed – that is more severe than his nine-game international ban. | The Catalan club will be without the striker, who joined from Liverpool for £65m in July, for eight league games and three Champions League matches, a punishment – in terms of games missed – that is more severe than his nine-game international ban. |
| It was this disparity between the severity of the domestic and international suspensions that drove the appeal in the first place. The £66,255 fine imposed by Fifa in June still stands. | It was this disparity between the severity of the domestic and international suspensions that drove the appeal in the first place. The £66,255 fine imposed by Fifa in June still stands. |
| The decision was received frostily in Uruguay, despite the player now being available for friendly games against Japan and South Korea in September and Saudi Arabia the following month. “I expected something different, although not much,” said the Uruguay Football Association (AUF) president, Wilmar Valdez. | The decision was received frostily in Uruguay, despite the player now being available for friendly games against Japan and South Korea in September and Saudi Arabia the following month. “I expected something different, although not much,” said the Uruguay Football Association (AUF) president, Wilmar Valdez. |
| “Cas is a totally independent tribunal and this is to do with the way people see things, it’s a cultural matter. The way we live football in South America is different to Europe, for us there are things which are normal and which deserve sanctions, but not such harsh ones. | “Cas is a totally independent tribunal and this is to do with the way people see things, it’s a cultural matter. The way we live football in South America is different to Europe, for us there are things which are normal and which deserve sanctions, but not such harsh ones. |
| “The training is something positive because not being able to train was too tough. It was shown in the World Cup, in the matches Suárez did not play in, that he is a fundamental player. We will have to work to look for the appropriate alternatives.” | “The training is something positive because not being able to train was too tough. It was shown in the World Cup, in the matches Suárez did not play in, that he is a fundamental player. We will have to work to look for the appropriate alternatives.” |
| The AUF lawyer Daniel Cravo told Sky Sports News: “We don’t think it was the worst behaviour of a player in a World Cup. We have seen worse situations and the players haven’t been sanctioned at that level.” | The AUF lawyer Daniel Cravo told Sky Sports News: “We don’t think it was the worst behaviour of a player in a World Cup. We have seen worse situations and the players haven’t been sanctioned at that level.” |
| The new Barcelona coach, Luís Enrique, can now integrate Suárez into his rebuilt squad. Questions have been asked about how the striker will fit into a forward line that already contains the attacking prowess of Neymar and Lionel Messi. But knowing that he no longer has to risk throwing Suárez untested into the heat of a clásico will be a huge relief to Enrique, who is under pressure to shift the balance of power in La Liga back from Madrid to Catalonia after taking over from Gerardo Martino in the summer. | |
| The Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, on Wednesday accused Suárez of damaging the league’s image . “He’s great to have but an accident waiting to happen … and this one in the summer, although it was with Uruguay, although it didn’t directly involve the Premier League, clearly it reflected on Liverpool as one of our great clubs. And it reflected on us,” Scudamore said. |