Uruguay striker Luis Suarez could face a lengthy ban and bid goodbye to his 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign after allegedly biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during their match on Tuesday in Brazil.
Suarez appeared to bite the shoulder of Chiellini during Uruguay's 1-0 win over Italy, but the referee did not see the alleged biting incident and the 27-year-old striker dodged any sanction.
But while Suarez was not penalized during the game, the Liverpool striker could be banned for the rest of the World Cup after a FIFA spokesperson announced that they will investigate the incident.
"We are awaiting the official match reports and will gather all the necessary elements in order to evaluate the matter," a FIFA spokesperson said via The Telegraph.
Based on FIFA's disciplinary code, Suarez could be banned for a maximum of 24 matches or two years in a World Cup event.
Italy's Mauro Tassotti was previously handed an eight-game ban after breaking the nose of an opponent in 1994, while Zinedine Zidane was banned for three matches for his infamous head-butting incident in the 2006 final.
Suarez fell on the ground after the incident, but Chiellini insisted that the Uruguay star dived, knowing the he did something wrong.
"It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off. It is clear, clear-cut," Chiellini said. "Then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn't have done."
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, who announced his resignation as coach of the club after the match, admitted that he did not see the actual incident, but the bite marks on Chiellini's shoulder were enough to prove that Suarez should have been sent off during the match.
"I didn't see Suarez biting him but I saw the bite-marks on his shoulder but the referee's assistants were so busy they didn't see anything," Prandelli said. "It's a shame, it's a real shame that it turned out like this."
Jim Boyce, the head of FIFA's referees committee, said that he watched incident several times on television and he believes that FIFA should take the incident seriously and hand sanction Suarez deserves for his unsportsmanlike behavior during the match.
Suarez was also banned for 10 matches in 2013 for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and in and for seven games in 2010 for also biting Otman Bakkal when he was still playing for Ajax.
