adminRIO DE JANEIRO. — Luis Suarez will be offered the chance to continue his tainted career at Barcelona as the Spanish soccer giants press ahead with plans to sign the Liverpool striker despite his World Cup shame.Liverpool on Wednesday night insisted they had not received a bid or an official approach for Suarez, who was punished heavily by Fifa yesterday after being accused of another biting outrage.
But sources in Spain claimed a swap deal involving Chile superstar Alexis Sanchez had been mooted and Suarez was close to agreeing personal terms with the Catalan club.
Barcelona have emerged as favourites for Suarez ahead of rivals Real Madrid, with the latest controversy in the forward’s career seemingly doing little to curtail interest in him.
Fifa’s six-strong disciplinary committee met on Wednesday night to study video footage of the flashpoint in which Suarez was accused of sinking his teeth into the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s 1-0 win in Natal on Tuesday.
Suarez was yesterday then banned for nine international matches plus any worldwide football-related activity for four months for biting Chiellini.
His third biting disgrace has seen a raft of criticisms, most notably from former Liverpool captain and assistant manager Phil Thompson, who described it as a “kick in the face” after the support shown to him by Liverpool.
Thompson said: “You think of the support the guy has had from Brendan Rodgers, (owner) John Henry and majority of the fans at Liverpool.
“It has happened on the international stage. This is worse than the first two bites. This is the world’s media. Everyone is looking at this and wanting to see what happens. At the end of the day he is a Liverpool player.
“He plays for my football club. He’s brought embarrassment and shame on our football club. For him to do this is a massive shock. It’s been disgraceful to be honest.”
And former England manager Graham Taylor said: “If you look at Suarez’s reaction afterwards it’s like he knows what he has done. This is a person who definitely needs some help.”
Incredibly, Uruguay FA board member Alejandro Balbi, who doubles as the player’s lawyer, said the player was being victimised.
Balbi said: “There’s a lot of pressure from England and Italy. You shouldn’t forget that we’re rivals of many and we can be for the organiser (hosts Brazil) in the future. This does not go against what might have happened but there’s no doubt that Suarez is a rock in the shoe for many.” — The Daily Express.
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