Suárez Allegedly Bites Opponent in World Cup Win

Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez is one of the world’s best soccer players and he demonstrates this often such as his two goals in his country’s win over England at the World Cup.  Occasionally, however, his dark side can get the better of him as he apparently showed in this afternoon’s victory by Uruguay over Italy.

In the eightieth minute of the deadlocked, must-win match for the Celeste, Suárez collided with Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini and both players went down.  Initially it seemed that Suárez head butted Chiellini who may have responded by elbowing the Uruguayan.  But TV replays and images the incident apparently showed that Suárez appeared to have bitten his opponent on or near the left shoulder.

Chiellini pulled down his jersey sleeve to show the apparent injury to match referee Marco Rodríguez of Mexico.  Yet Rodriguez, who had previously sent off Italian Claudio Marchisio for a dangerous tackle, did not foul Suárez or Chiellini.

Diego Godin scored the lone goal one minute later that would send Uruguay to the next round and eliminate the Azzuri.

“It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off. It is clear, clear-cut,” said an irate Chiellini after the final whistle.

“Then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn't have done,” he added.

Suárez did not mention the incident with Chiellini but his coach did speak out.

“I would like to see it again”, admitted Óscar Washington Tabárez following the match.

“If something would’ve happened then the referee would’ve observed it.  Thus, there are no further comments that can be made,” mentioned El Profesor Tabárez.

Uruguay: Investigation Requested Over World Cup Concussion

The world soccer players’ union criticized global governing FIFA following a concussion to Uruguay’s Alvaro Pereira in a World Cup match on Thursday.

According to FIFPro, FIFA’s concussion protocol “failed” when in the 61st minute Pereira was briefly knocked unconscious by a blow from the knee of England’s Raheem Sterling.  Pereira woke up and appeared to be confused as he was taken off the field for examination by Uruguay’s team medic, Dr. Alberto Pan.  Pereira became angry as Pan called for a substitution to be done but the defender would return and finish the game.

“FIFPro understands that in certain moments, faced by the pressures of such an important international stage, many players would react in this way. There are times, however, when the players also require greater protection against the prospect of making any rash decisions,” said a statement from the organization.

The union added, “The World Cup must set the standard for player health and safety to educate the international football community. Medical evidence shows that a person faces the risk of very serious brain injury, or worse, if he or she suffers a severe head trauma from a concussive blow.”

In light of Pereira’s injury, which came during Uruguay’s 2-1 victory over the English, FIFPro suggested that they might appoint their own independent doctors for “all FIFA competitions.”  Another proposal would be to change the rules and allow temporary substitutions of players believed to have suffered concussions on the field.

Daily Headlines: June 3, 2013

* Chile: A judge issued an order for police to make a portrait of and look for the possible killer of famed Chilean poet Pablo Neruda who died days after a 1973 military coup.

* Venezuela: Timothy Tracy, a U.S. filmmaker detained last April and accused of spying against the Venezuelan government, was allegedly transferred to the El Rodeo prison.

* Brazil: The iconic Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro was reopened yesterday with a 2-2 tie between Brazil and England.

* Mexico: Mexican author turner peace activist Javier Sicilia praised a recent Organization of American States report on drugs as a tool that could “lead to the formulation and implementation of new drug policies”.

Video Source – YouTube via AFP (The body of famed Chilean poet Pablo Neruda was exhumed last April in order to examine if he was murdered via poison in September 1973).
 
Online Sources- Huffington Post; Fox News Latino; The Latin Americanist; BBC Sport; The Guardian