Suarez’ 4-Month Suspension Upheld; Training Ban Removed
By: Opeyemi Oladunjoye
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has upheld Luis Suarez’s four-month ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup in Brazil but has allowed the Uruguay striker to train and play in friendly matches.
FC Barcelona confirmed the news saying: “He will join the first team’s training session, scheduled for Friday. The public presentation of Suarez as a new Barcelona player will be held on Monday at the Camp Nou.”
Suarez will still have to serve the remaining eight games of his record nine-match ban in competitive international games, while his competitive Barcelona debut is likely to be at Real Madrid on 26 October in La Liga’s first El Clasico of the new season, although he is likely to play in Monday’s friendly with Mexico’s Club Leon.
The 27-year-old will also be available for Uruguay’s friendlies against Japan and South Korea in September and Saudi Arabia in October.
Suarez’s lawyers argued that FIFA’s decision to suspend him from all football-related activity was too strong a punishment. CAS has now said the sanctions imposed on the Striker by FIFA preventing him from taking part in any football activity was “excessive”, as not allowing him to train would have an impact on the player after the suspension had ended.
The World players’ union FIFPRO has also said it was “disappointed that the court had decided not to strongly diminish the sanctions” and “remain of the view they are disproportionate in relation to his violation of the Fifa disciplinary code”
Although Suarez’s legal team had been covinced that the player’s ban would be halved, as that would see him back on the pitch shortly after the start of the new La Liga season, they still believe the appeal was a success. Suarez will now miss Barcelona’s first 11 games of the season
In addition to being allowed to train and play in friendlies, the former Liverpool player can also attend matches and take part in promotional activities.
