The World Cup provides an acceptable outlet for national pride. Attendants make their preferences known through tongue-in-cheek costumes and elaborate face-painting. It is deeply satisfying to watch and has felt surprisingly clean.
Aggression has been predominantly seen from the competing teams, with a fair amount of fouling and injuries accumulating over the past few weeks.
But during the Italy vs. Uruguay match on June 24, passions boiled over, and one player did something beyond the pale.
Luis Suarez, an Uruguayan striker, bit the shoulder of opponent Giorgio Chiellini. Footage of this incident only shows Suarez from behind, placing his head near Chiellini’s upper torso. Both men subsequently fell to the ground. Chiellini fell due to the shock of teeth sinking into his shoulder, while Suarez fell to the ground with an expression of immediate regret, placing his hands over his mouth.
In the coming days, Suarez received a four-month ban from soccer, as both a participant and a spectator. This has been his third biting incident.
It’s difficult to feel too sorry for Suarez, who has shined in his career, currently playing for Liverpool Football Club. He’s received warnings for a string of controversies and in many respects hasn’t learned from them. Outside of these moments of unsportsmanship, he is prized as one of the greatest footballers of his generation. Whether Suarez is making a poor decision leading to a horrific event, or leading in his league for goals scored in a season, the man has a passion for the sport.
Across the world, especially evident in the United States, athletes are admired for sheer dedication and by-any-means attitudes. Luis Suarez’s undeniable talent and drive has made Uruguay a grateful nation. While riding the high of being his country’s saving grace, Suarez’s misstep during the games was largely at his own expense.
To be frank, being bitten is far from the most inhibiting injury a soccer player can endure. The action has violent overtones, but I doubt Chiellini’s ability to play football was marred by Suarez’s bite. If Suarez truly wanted to handicap the Italian team, he likely wouldn’t have chosen to bite one of their players on the shoulder.
It’s impossible to defend the action, but the two men have patched up the situation publicly. Suarez should not have been banned from watching his teammates, World Cup or otherwise.
