Last week Luis Suarez saw his fourth-month ban reduced which enabled him to play in friendly matches for club and country. On Monday he made his debut for FC Barcelona in a friendly but he won’t play for Uruguay during upcoming matches in September.
On Thursday the Uruguayan FA named their preliminary roster for friendlies against Japan and South Korea next month. Suarez’s name was not in the squad.
[RELATED: Suarez makes Barca debut]
The Uruguayan forward, currently serving the ban after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during the World Cup this summer, was deemed to have been let off the hook by many after last weeks hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) stated he could now return to practice and play in friendlies after previously being banned from all soccer related activities.
Suarez, 27, is banned from playing for Barcelona, competitively, until the end of October and will also miss Uruguay’s next eight matches which rules him out of 2015 Copa America and World Cup qualifiers.
Uruguay’s head coach Oscar Tabarez likely wants to try some fresh faces and give players a chance to step up and show what they’ve got. Given Suarez’s lengthy absence, that’s hugely understandable. Also, this will give Suarez a chance to train with his new team in Barcelona, get settled in to life in Spain and try to stay as low-key as possible during his ban.
Sure, it would have been nice to see Suarez given a run out for Uruguay and it probably wouldn’t have done him any harm. However given the circumstances of his ban, it seems fit and proper that La Celsete haven’t called up their star man for the September friendlies.