Slapping another hand on the face of the Uruguayan international Luis Suarez, Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected his appeal to reconsider his four months ban issued by the FIFA disciplinary committee during the world cup for his biting act to Italian player Giorgio Chiellini. His first appeal to reconsider the decision had already been rejected by the FIFA itself in June and CAS was his last hope, but unfortunately, even this tribunal found his mistake worthy enough to exile him from the game. Importantly, his ban had until disallowed him to even travel with his club team, but giving some relief to the Barcelona forward, CAS has granted him permission to train with his club. The verdict is strange not because it is being upheld by the supreme sports arbitration authority but because both Suarez and his battery of lawyers were confident his sanction would surely be reduced since pressure was building up on the judge for giving him some kind of relief.
The good news is he is allowed to participate in all non-official football related activities including training, promotions, and vising stadiums where his team would be playing. With this verdict, FIFA’s sanction is deemed full and final and Barca starlet can no longer seek an appeal and his first appearance for Spanish giant would be on October 26 against arch rival Real Madrid. The court hearing his case issued a media release after the verdict where it mentioned, “The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has released its decision in the appeal of Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona and the Uruguayan FA against FIFA. The CAS Panel has partially upheld the appeal. The sanctions imposed on the player by FIFA have been generally confirmed. However, the 4-month suspension will apply to official matches only and no longer to other football-related activities (such as training, promotional activities and administrative matters).
“On 24 July 2014, Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona and the Uruguayan FA filed an appeal against the decision of the Appeals Committee of FIFA. The Appellants requested that the sanctions be reduced and more particularly that the 4-month suspension be lifted. The case was conducted on an expedited basis and the hearing took place at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland on 8 August 2014. The player was present and gave a statement to the Panel of CAS arbitrators: Mr Bernhard Welten, Switzerland (President), Professor Luigi Fumagalli, Italy, and Dr Marco Balmelli, Switzerland.”