Luis Suarez apologizes for biting Giorgio Chiellini in World Cup game
Uruguay’s Luis Suarez apologized, sort of, on Monday for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s 1-0 win over Italy on Tuesday at the World Cup.
In a statement released on his Twitter page on Monday, Suarez said:
“After several days of being home with my family, I have had the opportunity to regain my calm and reflect about the reality of what occurred during the Italy-Uruguay match on 24 June 2014.
“Independent from the fallout and the contradicting declarations that have surfaced during these past days, all of which have been without the intention of interfering with the good performance of my national team, the truth is that my colleague Giorgio Chiellini suffered the physical result of a bite in the collision he suffered with me. For this:
“I deeply regret what occurred.
“I apologize to Giorgio Chiellini and the entire football family.
“I vow to the public that there will never again be another incident like
“Montevideo, 30th of June 2014”
Yes, the next to last sentence just ends mysteriously at “like”.
A couple of points:
1. At no point does Suarez say he intentionally bit Chiellini, he refers to it as something Chiellini suffered in the collision.
2. It’s probably as close to a full apology as Chiellini will ever get for the incident.
The Uruguay striker says in a statement posted on Twitter on Monday that “I deeply regret what occurred,” and that “the truth is that my colleague Giorgio Chiellini suffered the physical result of a bite in the collision he suffered with me.”
Suarez was banned from all football for four months after the incident, which occurred during Uruguay’s 1-0 win over Italy in their group-stage game in Brazil. He had denied wrongdoing in a statement to FIFA, saying he simply collided with Chiellini’s shoulder.
Suarez apologized to Chiellini and “the entire football family,” and said “I vow to the public that there will never again be another incident like [this].”
