Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was handed a nine-game and four-month ban for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during their World Cup 2014 match on Tuesday in Brazil.
FIFA announced that Suarez will be suspended for Uruguay's next nine international matches and will be barred from participating in all football-related activities for the next four months.
But while Chiellini believes that Suarez should be penalized for his action, the Italian defender said in a statement that the penalty was "excessive."
"I always considered the disciplinary measures by the governing organizations to be unequivocal, but at the same time I think what they have proposed is excessive," Chiellini said. "I sincerely hope that he will be permitted at least to be close to his teammates during their games, because forbidding him from doing that would be alienating him."
Chiellini added that he has no ill feelings towards Suarez, and that at this point, he is only thinking about their early exit in the Brazil tournament after losing to Uruguay in their final group match.
"I don't have any feelings of joy, revenge or anger towards Suarez for an incident which happened on the field and finished there," Chiellini said. "I'm just angry and disappointed about losing the game. At the moment, my only thoughts are with Luis and his family, because they're faced with a very difficult period."
Meanwhile, Uruguay coach Luis Tabarez announced his resignation as member of FIFA Strategic Committee as a protest about Suarez's sanction.
Tabarez insisted that he will not be comfortable working with the people who pushed for the stiff sanction for his star strike. The 67-year-old coach also blamed the media for pressuring FIFA to hand a heavy penalty.
"We never thought or expected what we found out when we were told about the details of the punishment -- of an excessive severity," Tabarez said via ESPN FC. "The decision was much more focused on the opinions of the media, and that media attacked immediately at the conclusion of the match."
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
