Football’s world governing body stands firm on Suarez punishment.
FIFA have upheld the four-month suspension that they issued to Liverpool and Uruguay striker Luis Suarez for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.
Suarez and the Uruguayan FA both appealed against the punishment, which prevents the 27-year-old from taking part in any football-related activity.
Although FIFA have rejected the appeals, the matter could be taken to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, should the player or the Uruguayan FA choose to continue their complaint.
An official FIFA statement read: “The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by both the Uruguayan player Luis Suárez and the Uruguayan FA, and to confirm the decision rendered by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 25 June 2014 in its entirety.
“The terms of the decision taken by the FIFA Appeal Committee were communicated to the player and the Uruguayan FA today.
“The relevant decision is not yet final and binding, i.e. an appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) is still possible (cf. art. 67 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes) by the player and/or the Uruguayan FA, subject to certain conditions.”
Suarez is unlikely to be a Liverpool player for much longer. He appears to be on the verge of completing a transfer to La Liga giants FC Barcelona.
The PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year will not be able to play for Barcelona until late October.
Suarez’s ban came while he was in the best form of his career. He scored 31 goals and provided 12 assists in 33 Premier League games last season, before netting twice in two appearances at the World Cup.