Imagine if the NFL’s best quarterback had the personality of Mike Tyson, Mike Rice and Marshall Henderson combined. That’s what Luis Suarez means to English soccer.
The Liverpool forward made headlines for his actions in his squad’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Sunday. Suarez and Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic were involved in what looked like a routine battle for position near the goal during the 68th minute when Suarez suddenly lunged jaws-first toward Ivanovic’s arm, biting the Chelsea defender’s shoulder like some kind of overgrown, rabid puppy.
All that came less than 20 minutes after Suarez conceded a penalty on a handball in the box, which Chelsea converted for a go-ahead goal. But the ugly behavior was matched with undeniable talent: his perfectly weighted pass set up teammate Daniel Sturridge with a wide-open net for Liverpool’s first goal, and Suarez found the net himself for a dramatic last-minute equalizer — a goal he’d never have scored had the referee caught sight of the biting incident.
Bizarre as it is, you could try to explain away one biting incident as a snap reaction in the heat of the moment. The problem is that Suarez has done it before; in 2010, while playing for Ajax in the Netherlands, he chomped on an opponent’s neck for no obvious reason. The seven-match suspension he got for that incident should at least be matched this time around, leaving Liverpool without its best player for the rest of the season.
The controversy swirling around Suarez doesn’t begin or end with biting, though. Suarez has also been found guilty of yelling racial slurs during a 2011 match at Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, a Frenchman of African descent. When the two teams met again soon after Suarez returned from an eight-game suspension, he further cemented his villain status by snubbing Evra during customary pregame handshakes. The middle-fingered salute Suarez gave opposing fans during a 2011 match against Fulham actually ranks as one of the tamer controversies of his career.
When you take all the incidents together, there’s no way Suarez should be allowed to continue playing soccer. It’s unfair to ask other players to share the same pitch or locker room with such a player and hurtful to the reputation of a club to effectively endorse Suarez’s behavior by continuing to employ him. The only complication is Suarez’s talent: he was recently named to the six-man short list for player of the year in England and is widely regarded as one of the top 10 players in the world.
Yes, Suarez may be totally insane, but he’s also insanely good. Players and executives, ever conscious of the glory and riches that come with victory, have until now been willing to look the other way. In fact, Liverpool’s website described the bite only as “an altercation” between Suarez and Ivanovic, and manager Brendan Rodgers insisted throughout his post-match press conference that he had not heard or seen evidence of the incident.
Things changed quickly, however, as Liverpool’s public relations department went into overdrive after the game, issuing an apologetic statement and a hefty fine against Suarez. The player himself wrote on Twitter, “I’m so sad for what happened this afternoon.” It’s a nice but hollow sentiment from someone who enjoys finding controversy as much as the back of the net.
You can call it a number of things — disconcerting, disheartening, if nothing else unsanitary. But considering who was involved, Luis Suarez’s bite was above all sadly predictable. And in spite of Suarez’s incredible talent, it’s become impossible — for Liverpool, its supporters and all fans of the game — to look past the trouble.