Biting Back

We all know that the football world operates on an entirely different scale to the realms of normality. The concept of "reality" is alien on planet football and behind the myriad of flustered journalists, ecstatic fans and excesses of wealth lie human beings who cite their occupation as "footballer".

As the reaction to Luis Suárez's infamous bite on Giorgio Chiellini continues to roll in, this crucial word, "reality", seems once again to be the vital missing ingredient in football discussion. The Uruguayan striker continues to act as a magnifying glass to the wild differences between matters on the pitch and matters of the pitch.

Before I go any further, I must state, superfluous as it may be given the atrocity of the act, that this is in no way a defence of Luis Suárez the footballer. There is a certain stigma attached to the bite and the old adage of "three strikes and you're out" should have been apparent to the troubled forward having spent the majority of his career in Europe.

Instead, this is a reaction to the reaction, rather than to the incident itself. A reaction which has seen the most righteous of figures within media circles state their disgust at such a diabolical crime and that Suárez would be lucky to kick a ball again.

Two aspects of the reaction have been of particular intrigue. Firstly the difference between how a footballer's public and personal life is perceived, and secondly how various cultures respond to certain events.

By all accounts, Suárez comes across as a genuinely warm, friendly, family orientated man off the field of play. His commitment to his family saw him follow his childhood sweetheart, Sofia Balbi, to plying his trade in Europe where she had been working. And yet he is vilified as a cannibalistic monster.

Let us compare this to Ryan Giggs for instance, a man who is held in the highest regard in British football due to his remarkable talents and hugely successful career. This man, who was recently honoured with a cringe-worthy slot on ITV documenting his (unsuccessful) adventure as manager of Manchester United (come on, really?) embarked on an 8 year affair with his brother's wife.  I defy any upstanding citizen to logically explain to me that this is more deserving of respect than a man with a tendency to bite.

Once again this is not an attack on Giggs. The example could have been anyone. Wayne Rooney's well documented flings with prostitutes have not stopped him from being favourite to take on the England captaincy should he retire. Likewise Franck Ribéry and Karim Benzema, the darlings of French football were involved in a controversial incident regarding an underage prostitute. Even Lionel Messi's finances have been scrutinised due to alleged tax evasion. Dare I say the life of Paul Gascoigne, troubled as he may be, would almost certainly come off the worse in a comparison to the life of Luis Alberto Suárez Diaz.

While we are on the matter of biting, does anybody remember Jermain Defoe's bite on Javier Mascherano in 2006?

Many of these reactions have also sought to analyse the mental health of Luis Suárez, suggesting that some of his actions may be involuntary or the result of an over stimulated sense of competition, emotion and passion. Indeed Kenny Dalglish stated this week that "some players have injures you can't see". A touching sentiment but perhaps one that is only really be understood when you take in to consideration the Uruguayan's past and his native culture.

Dónal Óg Cusack's excellent piece in the Irish Examiner (link attached) this week shed light on what life as a Uruguayan meant to the Liverpool strikers. The sheer extent of his childhood poverty is too bizarre to even contemplate for many British and Irish football fans, that they simply have no concept of this "win or die" attitude that Suárez brings to the pitch.

Furthermore the issue of "Picardia"- the Latin American approach to sport where victory by cunning and treachery is a sign of endearment and passion rather than one of villainy- is simply not understood in England.

If the World Cup truly is to be regarded as a union of nations coming together in celebration of the universal language of football, then the response to the tournament has been far from universal. Whilst the Suárez bite seems to be detracting from what has been a phenomenal few weeks of football in Britain and Ireland, the incident in many countries has gone nearly unnoticed. Certain sections of South American and Hispanic newspapers afforded Suárez very little page room in the aftermath of the Uruguay win.

Yes, yes, it is all well and good to sit here and eulogise on the whys and wherefores of how Luis Suárez became public enemy number one in England yet national hero in Uruguay. But what happens next?

Well firstly it is telling that Barcelona have not cooled their interest in the forward. If anything, a move to the Spanish giants now seems closer than ever.

FIFA's ban is also surely damning proof of their political agenda rather than their impartiality. The ban fails to take in to account any notion of rehabilitation and instead has alienated Suárez from his place of work, his bread and butter.

The man needs to be punished but the football world equally needs a dose of common sense. It was a bite. It did not end a career and the Italian centre half was fit to continue the game.

In banning Luis Suárez for racism in 2011, a finding which must go down as the FA's most farcical moment in their existence given Evra's tendency for fabrication, Suárez 's mixed race ethnicity and making a decision based on "probability", footballing authorities set a precedent.

Suárez, for all his shambolic misdemeanours, has now reverted to the victim mentality of his impoverished youth, whilst the public image of the typical footballer became even more detached from the authentic reality than ever before.

It is time for football to finally gain some perspective and return to the word at the top of the piece- "reality". Why is it that we seem to be surprised when players like Suárez behave in such a way when our impulse reaction is to damn, shame and polish our glorified sense of self-righteousness?

Unless a certain perspective is gained regarding both the legitimacy of right and wrong, as well as respect for the many cultures we are so fortunate to play host to in British football, then incidents akin to the Suárez bite cases will continue to tarnish our beautiful game. 

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/columnists/donal-og-cusack/suarez-is-just-another-crazy-mixed-up-kid-not-a-bad-person-273535.html