Both FIFA and the player’s union FIFPro have released separate statements claiming Luis Suarez needs help, albeit in a pair of different manners.
The football governing body, via secretary general Jerome Valcke, said Suarez’s bite incident of Giorgio Chiellini was “unacceptable.”
“I think he should find a way to stop doing it - he should go through a treatment,” Valcke said.
Valcke’s never been known for his suave nature or eloquent English.
FIFPro went about things a little more tactfully, releasing a statement saying, “Luis Suarez should receive all the support he needs to deal with any off-field issues he may be experiencing at this time,” the union said, adding that “treatment must be a part of any sanction,” indicating FIFA was in charge of making sure Suarez receives the help he needs.
The Uruguayan striker was suspended for nine international matches plus four months of all football-related activities following the incident with Chiellini, his third biting incident on the field.
Meanwhile, the Uruguayan team has rallied around Suarez, blaming just about everyone on planet Earth aside from the man who bit Chiellini.
Coach Oscar Tabarez resigned from the FIFA technical committee, claiming Suarez was being labeled an international “scapegoat” in a marathon 13-minute prepared speech.
“I had a position and I must leave that position. It was not was or prudent to be in an organization with people who exerted pressure and rendered the punishment, who managed criteria and values that are different to the ones I have.”
Tabarez continued Suarez’s attack of the English media, an opinion Suarez vehemently maintained after the incident with Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. “This decision is much more focused on the opinions of the media,” Tabarez said. “The media that attacked immediately after the match, and in the press conference, journalists only took that topic.”
Uruguay captain Diego Lugano agreed with his manager. “What incident?” Lugano asked in a press conference yesterday. “The footage doesn’t show anything, you can speculate from it but it’s nothing important. It appears that the English press keep coming back to this situation, I can’t find any other explanation, but I am happy with yesterday’s win.”
Uruguayan president took a more simplistic approach. “We didn’t choose him to be a philosopher, or a mechanic, or to have good manners - he’s a great player,” said Jose Mujica.
Eric Wynalda: Luis Suarez has the ‘mental capacity of a six year old’
