Goodbye Suarez and good riddance

THE group stages have been full of drama, presenting talking-points on-and-off the pitch. Even a review of the statistics suggests that Brazil 2014 has been one of the most exciting tournaments ever.

A total of 136 goals is the highest since the World Cup was extended to allow 32 teams to enter while the average goals per game cannot be bettered in the history books unless you trawl back to 1958.

Not only have there been plenty of goals scored but they have been shared out amongst the teams, resulting in a finer margin between the sides. This tournament is currently leading records for the spread of goals, close finishes and positive results. 

Furthermore, more goals are being scored in the last 10 minutes of games with a record number of substitutes having their names etched onto the score-sheets.

Games can get too exciting however. One unfortunate Brazilian fan was taken to hospital and died following a heart attack during the host nations’ penalty shoot-out.

However, the main topic off the pitch that everyone has been getting their teeth into this week has been the issue of Luis Suarez biting an Italian defender, having prior to the incident succeeded with memorable attacking prowess in this World Cup where he failed in the Confederations Cup last summer.

There are a couple of matters that stick with me like annoying gristle.

The first is the general reaction of the Uruguayan nation, claiming that Suarez is hard done-by and the victim of a media hate campaign. 

In defending him they are justifying his actions, condoning them as acceptable. This is plainly wrong.
 
That said, if Suarez genuinely agrees with the views of his compatriots then this would suggest that, as with the occasion on which he racially abused Patrice Evra, there appears to be little or no remorse. 

Perhaps this attitude is endorsed in Uruguay? There also seems to be little chance of Suarez returning to play his club football in England if he feels so ostracised and could again attempt to manufacture a move abroad.

I can understand Liverpool feeling more than a little aggrieved that they will have an important player missing part of the domestic season having erred while on international duty. 

However, that attitude is somewhat myopic when one considers similar penalties can be sanctioned with a number of sins (such as drug taking).  There are boundaries that should not be crossed.
 
There can also be little sympathy for a club that has in my opinion continually buried their head in the sand with Suarez, a serial repeat offender.

The only manner in which Liverpool can take the moral high ground would be to apply sanctions to Suarez while continuing to hold his registration. 

Admittedly, sacking him would allow a free-transfer and enable Suarez to cash-in on a huge signing-on bonus, yet a player with his skill, however flawed, will find a way to make money. 

Selling a player who has previously attempted to manufacture a move in these circumstances is hardly a statement of sanction, rather maximising the return on an asset, understandable though that is. 

Perhaps the liver bird on the logo should be replaced with an ostrich?  Liverpool need to take their own disciplinary action against the player to retain any credibility.

Perhaps tellingly, Liverpool’s owners and management are at least retaining their counsel on this occasion, whereas previously they have leapt to the support of the player.

It’s also amazing that this occurred in a match refereed by Mexican, Marco Rodriguez, ironically nicknamed … Chiquidracula (Dracula)!

Another remarkable occurrence has been the unwillingness of several African teams to play due to financial disputes. 

Initially, after Ghana’s players boycotted training, its government was forced to fly $3m in cash directly to Brazil to meet the players contracts with their Football Association, despite a FIFA guarantee that they would simply deduct the money from prize-money due.

No sooner had the embers died on that dispute and there was trouble in the Nigerian camp, with the president, Goodluck Jonathon, being forced to reassure the players that they would receive their bonuses. All of this after Cameroon arrived in Brazil a day later than anticipated having refused to board the plane for similar fiscal reasons.

The first games in the knock-out phase continued to deliver the excitement with the hosts, Brazil, being only inches away from an early exit when Pimilla of Chile hit the crossbar with minutes of extra-time remaining. The resulting penalty shootout swayed back and forth before Chile hit the woodwork again to allow 200 million Brazilians to celebrate.

The Dutch hordes ensured that the tournament was not totally dominated by South and Central America although they also relied on a penalty, on this occasion deep into injury time, to secure safe passage to the quarter-finals.
A mouth-watering contest between Brazil and Colombia awaits on Friday with the hosts waiting on the fitness of Neymar who will be pitted against arguably the player-of-the-tournament to date, James Rodriguez.

JAMES Rodriguez has taken the tournament by storm, netting five times already and winning man-of-the-match awards in his opening two games as Colombia set up a mouth-watering quarter-final against hosts Brazil on Friday.

It seems Rodriguez, right, was made for the biggest stage of all and, with the player turning 23 the day before the World Cup Final in Rio de Janeiro, few would now bet against him giving himself the greatest belated birthday present.

Apart from scoring, Rodriguez has also delivered two assists for his team mates as the South Americans are hitting top form at just the right time, thanks largely to him.

On Saturday he stunned fans at the Maracana stadium and millions of television viewers when he thundered in an unstoppable volley to give Colombia the lead while surrounded by five Uruguay players.

He followed that up with a smart close-range finish early in the second half.

Rodriguez, who looks like a teenager, epitomised everything that was good about Colombia’s confident performance against Uruguay, who struggled at the Maracana without their banned talismanic striker Suarez.

And while the name of Suarez might have been on everyone’s lips at the start of the afternoon following his banishment from the tournament for biting, Rodriguez was the talking point afterwards.

“Maradona, Messi, Suarez, James Rodriguez, they do things because they have certain gifts that makes them special. It is not up to me to say but I believe from what I have seen that he is the best player in the World Cup,” Uruguay coach Tabarez said.

His own manager Jose Pekerman was just as complementary. “At his age, he has no problem taking on responsibilities and doing things that footballers take many years to understand,” he said.

“Footballers need to handle a lot of situations and we are witnessing a footballer, with technique, who has all the things a top-level world player needs.”

Rodriguez tilted the match Colombia’s way by scoring his truly stunning opening goal after 28 minutes and became the tournament’s top scorer after 50 minutes with his fifth goal in four games.

While his first was down to individual brilliance, his second rounded off a beautifully-worked team effort. Without Suarez, South American champions Uruguay had no way back and although they rallied at the end and forced two important saves from Colombian keeper David Ospina, they were well beaten. In the end Uruguay, raging against FIFA, conspiracy theories and cursing Suarez’s fate, had no reply to a Colombia side inspired to a great victory.

“It is obvious that Luis is our main reference, the main player we have and that was felt. But that is not the reason we lost,” Uruguay captain Diego Godin said.

“This group is leaving with its head held high. When you give everything, your soul, your heart and you give yourself for the shirt - people are thankful and Uruguayans are always going to be thankful.”

Almost 20 years to the day after Colombia gained an unwanted place in the World Cup story with the murder of defender Andres Escobar following an own goal in a World Cup match against the United States, Colombia can now add to World Cup folklore for the right reasons.

The left-footed Monaco midfielder, who is married to Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina’s sister, had kicked off his first World Cup in style when he led Colombia to a 3-0 romp over Greece, scoring in the process.

He was again on target in their 2-1 win over Ivory Coast before needing just 45 minutes off the bench to help take Japan apart in their final group game.

After coming on at halftime, with the score at 1-1, he guided his team to a 4-1 win with an electric performance that suggested he has the potential to become one of the world’s top players.

He was one step ahead of the Japanese as he set up two goals for Jackson Martinez before capping the performance with his own masterpiece in the final minute.

After cutting his teeth in Europe with Portugal’s Porto for three years he joined wealthy French side AS Monaco in 2013 for 45 million euros.

After his performances in Brazil so far Europe’s big clubs would no doubt love to add him to their ranks though Monaco have no need to sell the man who could be player of the tournament.

***

FIFA opted to punish Luis Suarez, right, heavily for biting an opponent in a World Cup match because the Uruguayan showed no remorse for the incident and previous bans had not changed his behaviour, according to an internal FIFA document.

Suarez was hit on Thursday with a nine-game suspension on playing competitive matches for Uruguay and a four-month ban from any football-related activity, a record punishment for a player at a World Cup.

The decision ended the involvement in the tournament in Brazil of one of the sport’s best players and prompted fury in the South American nation at the scale of the punishment for Suarez who was given a hero’s welcome on his return.

“At no time did the player show any kind of remorse or admit to any violation of FIFA rules and therefore showed no awareness of having committed any infraction,” the FIFA document, seen by Reuters on Saturday, said.

The document, drawn up by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee which heard the Suarez case, said the bite on Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini last Tuesday night took place when the two players were not close to the ball, which was an aggravating factor, and was a ‘deliberate, intentional and unprovoked’ act.

The document said a six-game ban - the minimum in cases of a player spitting at another player - was considered insufficient in this ‘extraordinary’ case.

The decision to also ban Suarez from any football-related activity for four months was taken because the committee members felt two previous bans on Suarez for biting, while playing for clubs in Europe, had been ineffective.

A FIFA spokeswoman said she could not comment on the case as discussions by the Disciplinary Committee were confidential.

Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported on the document detailing the committee’s decision earlier on Saturday. It included excerpts of Suarez’s explanation of the event, in which he said his initial contact with Chiellini caused him to lose balance and fall on the Italian.

“Then, my face hit the player, leaving me with a bruise and a lot of pain in my teeth which caused the referee to stop the game,” Suarez was quoted as saying.

“That is what happened and at no point did anything happen that can be described as ‘biting’ or trying to bite,” he said.

The Disciplinary Committee meeting which ruled on the Suarez case included representatives of Pakistan, the Cook Islands, Singapore, Panama, Hong Kong, South Africa and Switzerland, the newspaper reported.

***

The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) has notified FIFA that it intends to appeal against striker Luis Suarez’s punishment for biting an Italy defender in a World Cup match.

A FIFA spokesperson said the world governing body received a formal, written, ‘intention to appeal’ from the AUF on Friday. The Uruguayans now have until Sunday to submit their written reasons for the appeal.

Suarez was banned on Thursday for Uruguay’s next nine competitive international matches and from any involvement in football for four months after biting defender Giorgio Chiellini, above, in their 1-0 Group D win over Italy.

The appeal will be handled by FIFA’s Appeal Committee, which is chaired by Larry Mussenden of Bermuda and which is a separate body to the Disciplinary Committee.

Suarez’s ban remains in place throughout the appeal process which ruled out any chance of him quickly returning to action during the World Cup in Brazil.
 
On Friday, Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez accused FIFA of ‘excessive severity’ with the ban and said Liverpool striker Suarez had been made a ‘scapegoat’.