Luis Suarez has done it again. And I'm not talking about his dramatic last gasp equalizer that rescued a point for Liverpool against Chelsea; but instead we are focussing on his horrific attack on a player on the pitch during play. Being frowned upon as we speak, he is probably coming up with different ways to explain his astonishing behavior of sinking his teeth into an opponent (Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea) during the game. It is going to be interesting to see how the Uruguayan walks away from this latest chapter in his life.
No stranger to controversy, this isn't the first time that Suarez has been involved in a biting incident. In 2010, while plying his trade with Ajax in the Dutch League, Suarez was found guilty of biting PSV player Otman Bakkal and was duly suspended for seven games. He never turned out for Ajax after that incident and was eventually moved on to Liverpool. With history repeating itself now, his latest actions could possibly bring his career at Liverpool to a premature end.
Looking at Suarez and his statistics, you would imagine that a player as influential and as talented as him would not have to resort to such tactics in the game. But right from the first biting incident, to his handball against Ghana in the quarterfinal of the 2010 World Cup, to the racial abuse saga involving Patrice Evra of Manchester United, Suarez has earned the tag of being a 'Dirty Player'. But running parallel to this negative image, his time at Liverpool has been nothing short of remarkable. Having recently been nominated for the PFA Player of the Year Award, Suarez has topped the goal scoring charts in the Premier League and has almost single handedly steered a mediocre looking Liverpool side almost to the doors of European qualification this season. But for all his hard work, there is no way that anyone is going to turn a blind eye to this latest incident. Liverpool were rightly criticized for their overtly public defense and vocal support of Suarez during the racial abuse incident and a club of their stature would do well now to be one of the first to severely condone this act by one of their star players.
The FA for their part will most likely end up taking retrospective action on the player after reviewing footage of the game, which could effectively see him miss the remainder of the season. This would be a damning blow on Liverpool's ambitions of making it to Europe for next season, even if it means the Europa League. On an individual front too, Suarez may be out of the running for the PFA Player of the Year Award. It seems like both club and player are set to pay a huge price for that moment of madness from Merseyside's enfant terrible.
In today's day and age of technology, with cameras pointing at you from every possible angle, there is no way a single second of action on the pitch can be missed. This is a fact that is probably communicated and ingrained into every player when they step out on the pitch. How Suarez thought he could get away with such an act is beyond belief but what is shocking is the fact that he felt the need to resort to such an act. There is enough evidence to suggest that he was very much aware to what he was doing and was done with the intent to cause harm. Such behavior has no place in the world of sport and can cause lot of damage to both the league and the club. For all his genius, he is turning out to be a bigger menace to the spirit of the game. With social media playing their part in spreading the news, Liverpool's credibility of being a 'Big Club' with values has certainly taken a beating. The need of the hour is that strict action is taken and a strong precedent set that sends out a stern message that such erratic behavior is not going to be tolerated.
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