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On This Day: Luis Suarez bites Branislav Ivanovic

On This Day: Luis Suarez bites Branislav Ivanovic
© Reuters
The Uruguay international was handed a 10-game ban.

Liverpool Luis Suarez hit the headlines after biting the arm of Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in a feisty encounter at Anfield on this day in 2013.

The Uruguay international endured an eventful afternoon after finding himself at the centre of several of the game's key moments.

He conceded the 57th-minute penalty for handball, from which Eden Hazard fired the visitors ahead for the second time after Daniel Sturridge had cancelled out Oscar's first-half opener, and he then scored a controversial equaliser seven minutes into stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw.

However, it was what happened in between which defined his day and earned him a 10-game ban.

Suarez appeared to sink his teeth into the upper arm of Ivanovic as the pair battled or possession. The incident was not spotted at the time by match referee Kevin Friend, but television replays left the striker with nowhere to hide.

He apologised to Ivanovic for his "inexcusable behaviour" via his Twitter account and then in a statement on his club's website, and later revealed he had been fined by his employers and asked that the money be donated to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

Uruguay's Luis Suarez was sent home from the 2014 World Cup finals after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini
Uruguay's Luis Suarez was sent home from the 2014 World Cup finals after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini (Mike Egerton/PA)

Two days after the game, he accepted a Football Association charge of violent conduct, but challenged the governing body's view that a standard three-game suspension represented insufficient punishment.

The frontman, who had previously sat out seven matches for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal during his time at Ajax and eight after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, was handed a 10-game ban, much to Liverpool's dismay, and did not play for the club again until September 25 that year.

Suarez, however, did not learn his lesson and was sent home from the 2014 World Cup finals after being banned for nine international matches and from all football for four months for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. He left Anfield in a £75milion switch to Barcelona less than two weeks later.

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3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2313553327644
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