Uruguay forward Luis Suarez faces the prospect of a 2-year-ban by FIFA

Luis Suarez of Uruguay and Giorgio Chiellini of Italy react after a clash during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group D match between Italy and Uruguay at Estadio das Dunas on June 24, 2014 in Natal, Brazil.

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez could be facing a ban for up to 24 matches or a 24-month ban according to FIFA’s disciplinary rules after he appeared to bite Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s decisive group D encounter against Italy.

The incident took place in the last 10 minutes of the match when the Uruguayan tried to lean down his forehead into the defender so as to bite his shoulder in the process, following by him falling on the ground, while holding his teeth.

Earlier, he had bitten PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal and was banned for 7 games, while the second instance saw him biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and that earned him a 10 game ban.

According to the FIFA disciplinary code, whatever the ban is being evaluated for Suarez, it won’t exceed the period of 2 years. "Unless otherwise specified, it may not exceed twenty-four matches or twenty-four months," a statement from Article 19 of the FIFA code states.

Chief Sports Reporter of the Press Association, Martyn Ziegler shades some light into the matter:

FIFA announce will investigate Suarez biting incident: "will gather all the necessary elements in order to evaluate the matter"

— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) June 24, 2014

Speaking to reporters following the match, Chiellini expressed his disappointment as Suarez wasn’t shown a red card after he had escaped Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez’s attention.

“It was ridiculous not to send Suárez off,” Chiellini was quoted by the Guardian. “It is clear-cut. Then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn’t have done. Suárez is a sneak and he gets away with it because FIFA want their stars to play in the World Cup. I’d love to see if they have the courage to use video evidence against him. The referee saw the bite mark, too, but he did nothing about it.”

Uruguay head coach Óscar Tabárez, on the other hand has been defending Suárez, stating that the player had been always targeted by the media.

“This is a football World Cup, it’s not about morality, cheap morality,” Tabárez said. “As we say in Uruguay, there are people who are hiding behind a tree waiting for someone to make a mistake. Suárez, despite any mistakes he might have made, is the preferred target of certain media, of certain press, who give him much more coverage for an alleged error he might have made rather than the things for which he is really in football.”

Suarez in his post-match interview said

"These are just things that happen out on the pitch. It was just the two of us inside the area and he bumped into me with his shoulder, and that's how my eye got like this as well."There are things that happen on the pitch and you should not make such a big deal out of them."

In a statement released on their official website, FIFA announced “ that disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the player Luis Suarez of Uruguay following an apparent breach of art. 48 and/or art. 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil match Italy-Uruguay played on 24 June 2014. The player and/or the Uruguayan FA are invited to provide with their position and any documentary evidence they deem relevant until 25 June 2014, 5pm, Brasilia time.”

They further added, “According to art. 77 lit. a of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), the FIFA Disciplinary Committee is responsible for sanctioning serious infringements which have escaped the match officials’ attention. Furthermore, according to art. 96 of the FDC, any type of proof may be produced (par. 1), in particular are admissible, reports from referees, declarations from the parties and witnesses, material evidence, audio or video recordings (par. 3).”