And no, we’re not talking about Liverpool, either. It seems that all of Latin America is outraged over Luis Suárez’s punishment for biting Giorgio Chiellini - nine matches and four months, in case you’ve forgotten. At least, this is what Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro is claiming.
Venezuela’s president spoke about what he called Suárez’s “disproportionate” punishment, referring to the striker as belonging to “all” of South America. Maduro said:
One has to wonder if fellow South American side Colombia would agree with the Venezuelan president. After all, they’re scheduled to meet Uruguay today, in the first stage of the knockout round. Perhaps los cafeteros would have been satisfied with a mere one-match ban?
Maduro spoke about Suárez before the revelation of the defense he made to the disciplinary committee. In his appeal to FIFA, Suárez, writing in Spanish, insisted that he did not bite or intend to bite Chiellini, but rather that he lost his balance.
The Venezuela president believes a case was “invented” against Suárez because he eliminated “two of football’s big nations.” Uruguay coach Oscar Tabárez has accused FIFA of making the player a scapegoat. Others, such as Diego Maradona, have labeled the affair an “international conspiracy.” Now that Suárez has denied the bite ever took place, it’s likely we’ll see even more figures speaking out regarding his punishment.