Luis Suarez Kicked Out of the World Cup for Biting

Uruguay’s talented striker needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut.

FIFA has banned Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez from competition for four months and suspended him from nine matches for biting Italian Giorgio Chiellini during competition on Tuesday. Suarez’s suspension will keep him not only off the field, but out of the stadium during the rest of Uruguay’s World Cup matches. If he wants to cheer his teammates on, he’ll have to buy a ticket and pay a $112,000 fine. The Liverpool star will also miss the beginning of the English Premier League Season.

Suspension aside, Suarez’s real punishment is becoming the butt of a giant international joke. Arguably the third most effective striker on Earth (behind Messi and Ronaldo), Suarez could have leveraged a memorable World Cup performance into a massive international following. Instead, Adidas – the brand that chose to advertise its cleats with an image of Suarez baring his massive pearly whites – has said they want no further involvement with the temperamental finisher. He’s a pariah because no one abides a biter.

After being red carded in the 2010 World Cup and banned from this tournament, Suarez is living up to his reputation as the world’s most talented liability. He’ll presumably spend the rest of the tournament hiding from the press and trying to wash a bad taste out of his mouth.

Photos by Clive Rose/Getty Images