Luis Suarez won't appeal 10-match ban for biting
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has decided not to appeal 10-match ban for biting.
MANCHESTER (AP) - Liverpool striker Luis Suarez will serve a 10-match ban for biting an opponent during a Premier League game after deciding on Friday not to appeal one of English football s harshest sanctions for on-the-field misbehavior.
The Uruguay international won t be seen on a football pitch in England until September following his unprovoked attack on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic that sparked widespread condemnation, including criticism by British Prime Minister David Cameron for setting an "appalling" example to youngsters.
"I would like to explain to everybody that I decided to accept the ban because whilst 10 games is clearly greater than those bans given in past cases where players have actually been seriously injured," Suarez said in a statement on his personal website, "I acknowledge that my actions were not acceptable on the football pitch so I do not want to give the wrong impression to people by making an appeal."
The English Football Association deemed a regular three-match ban for violent conduct insufficient in this case, and an independent panel on Wednesday punished him with seven more games.
The panel said Suarez failed to appreciate "the gravity and seriousness of this truly exceptional incident" and wanted to send a "strong message that such deplorable behaviors do not have a place in football."
"While we accepted that Mr. Suarez s reputation had been impacted, these unsavory pictures would have given a bad image of English football domestically and across the world alike," the three-person panel said in its written reasons, which were released by the FA later Friday.
The panel also referred to the possible health repercussions of Suarez s "truly disgraceful behavior."
Suarez, the Premier League s second top scorer with 23 goals, could have lodged an appeal against the extra seven games. If unsuccessful, however, he risked the possibility of the FA extending his sanction for making a frivolous appeal.
He has apologized, and been fined by Liverpool, for biting Ivanovic s upper right arm in the second half of the 2-2 draw between Liverpool and Chelsea on Sunday.
