THE PRESIDENT OF Uruguay – not the FA, the country, has come to the defence of Luis Suárez, claiming the he could see no evidence of any wrongdoing.
“I did not see him bite anyone. But they give each other so many kicks and blows and normally they put up with it,” the president told reporters on Wednesday night.
He went on to describe the striker as “an excellent player.”
Meanwhile, Uruguayan FA chief Wilmar Valdez said Wednesday there is insufficient proof to sanction star striker Luiz Suarez for biting an Italian defender.
“We believe that there is not sufficient evidence to truly sanction Luis,” Valdez told Channel 10 television.
“It has to be clear and on the video that FIFA gave us we think that it is not really clear,” Valdez said after presenting a case for Suarez to a FIFA hearing in Rio de Janeiro.
“We are confident that our defence will obtain results,” he added.
Suarez is accused of biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s 1-0 over Italy in World Cup Group D on Tuesday. The victory took Uruguay through to the second round.
Uruguayan media said FIFA could announce a decision on the disciplinary hearing against Suarez on Wednesday night or early Thursday.
The Uruguay team is in Natal preparing for its second round game against Colombia on Saturday.
Uruguay captain Diego Lugano dismissed the incident meanwhile as “totally irrelevant” and accused British media of “persecuting” his teammate.
“What incident? Which incident? I don’t know what incident you’re talking about,” the defender said when asked by a British journalist about the “Suarez incident”.
“Are you talking about the (English) Premier League or the national team? Do you have a score to settle?”
The journalist tried to explain himself in English but he was told the press conference was in Spanish.
“I don’t understand English,” said Lugano, who played for English club West Bromwich Albion last season.
“British media are persecuting Suarez, everybody knows it. It sells newspapers over there. You wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case,” he told reporters in Natal.
“We are happy about yesterday’s triumph,” Lugano said.
Addressing the British journalist again, he said: “I think you’re not happy because one can see it in your face that you’re not very happy about Uruguay’s victory.”
“We are talking about a totally irrelevant incident. Other incidents are more violent — an elbow to the nose or a kick on the leg of the opponent, that is violent.”
