Luis Suarez Bites Opponent, Gets Ten Game Ban

Luis Suarez gets a ten game ban for biting. British footbal player Luis Suarez, the Liverpool striker, was given a 10-game ban for biting. He bit an opponent, Branislav Ivanovic of the Chelsea league during a Premier League match. Suarez apologized for the bite on Twitter and was fined by Liverpool on Monday.

After the biting incident, Luis Suarez tweeted that he was "sad for what happened" and that his behavior was "inexcusable". He asked that the money he was fined be donated to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

A disciplinary panel decided the normal three-match ban for violent conduct was "clearly insufficient''. They added seven games to the suspension, which will exclude Suarez from playing for the remainder of the campaign and the first six matches of next season.

Ian Ayre, Liverpool managing director, said in a statement to the press that Suarez and the club were "shocked and disappointed'' at the ruling. Suarez has until Friday to appeal the additional sanction.  Ayre says that they "await the written reasons tomorrow before making any further comment."

In a Premier League match, Suarez bit Branislav Ivanovic, a Chelsea defender, on the upper right arm, but wasn't sent off the field because the referee didn't see him do so. A tape of the incident was later reviewed by the English Football Association.

Luis Suarez, originally from Uraguay, was also suspended for eight games in 2011 as a consequence for racially abusing Patrice Evra. He also was expelled from the field during a World Cup quarterfinal game in 2010 for a deliberate handball to prevent Ghana from scoring a late goal. This damaged his reputation, but he was performing very well this season.