The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of jokes, shock and more than a little bit of horror surrounding the Suarez controversy. So we thought we’d break down the event kicked off by one of Football’s most controversial players. Who exactly is Suarez, and why does he like to sink his teeth into fellow players? (Now there’s a question we thought we’d never ask.) Football has seen its fights, sure, but a biter? That’s just plain odd.

Football Mayhem: The Facts

During Uruguay’s 1-0 victory against Italy as a Uruguayan free kick was about to be delivered, Suarez thrust his head towards Italian player, Chiellini with what at first appeared to be a head butt. However, Cheillini claimed that Suarez had in fact sunk his teeth into Chiellini, revealing red “bite” marks on his shoulder. It wasn’t the first time Suarez had acted in such a way either. Back in 2013, he was banned from playing premier league football when he bit Chelsea’s Ivanovic, and three years before that he was given a seven game ban while playing for Ajax, for sinking his teeth into PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal.

What does Suarez say?

"These situations happen on the field. I had contact with his shoulder, nothing more, things like that happen all the time.” - Suarez, [Telegraph]

Hmm, we’re not convinced.

FIFA Under Pressure: Longest ban in football? 

Reactions have generally included outrage, with Chiellini claiming that he hopes FIFA is “brave enough” to ban the biting football player. "FIFA can confirm that disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the player Luis Suarez of Uruguay," FIFA said in a statement [Sky Sports]. The longest ban so far in World Cup history was eight games for Italian football player, Mauro, who broke another players nose in 1994. However, bans can go up to a maximum of 24 matches, or two years, meaning that Suarez could still break the football ban record.

What do you think is an appropriate punishment? We’d love to know your opinion.

Tweet us @SyntheticTurfM with your football thoughts!