Luis Suarez Rips the Way FIFA Treated Him During 2014 World Cup
Luis Suarez's frayed relationship with FIFA continued Wednesday, as the FC Barcelona striker offered harsh criticism of international football's governing body, speaking out on his treatment after being banned for biting Italian defenderย Giorgio Chiellini.
"The way I was treated when I had to leave the World Cup was the worst thing I've ever experienced as a player," Suarez said, per Marca.com. "I'll never understand it... they treated me worse than a hooligan."
Suarez, 28, received a nine-match ban and was barred from football-related activity for bitingย Chiellini during their Group D matchup in Brazil. He was immediately removed from the Uruguayan team and became the source of internationalย derisionย for theย incident, his second of this type. The ban spurred Liverpool, then his club team, to open a bidding for his transferโone won by Barcelona for a fee ofย ยฃ65 million.
Suarez has gotten off to an excellent start at Barcelona, helping lead them to a second-place standing in La Liga and the Round of 16 in Champions League. His comments come a day after some accused him of biting Manchester City'sย Martin Demichelis during Barcelona's 2-1 Champions League win.
"I came to Barcelona to help out, to win silverware. I'm doing my job and helping the team a lot," Suarez said, per Marca.com. "What happened with Demichelis? There is proof that he placed his hand under my throat. The English press are always looking to involve me in something and make me look bad."
UEFA has said it will not hand down a punishment for the incident, per Goal.com.
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