36 Days to the World Cup: Luis Suárez banned for 4 months after infamous biting incident

The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event.

Two years after retiring from international duty, Luis Suárez leaves behind a complicated legacy. While the star Uruguayan forward might be considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, he is also one of soccer’s most notorious figures.

No moment defines that notoriety more than the 2014 World Cup, when Suárez bit Italian Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s final group stage game. With the score at 0-0 and the 79th minute ticking away, Suárez clashed with Chieliini in the box before sinking his teeth into his shoulder. Suárez then fell to the ground, clutching his face and later grabbing at his teeth.

While the foul was obvious on replay, the referee did not call it, despite Chiellini lowering his jersey to show the bite marks on his shoulder.

Moments later, Uruguay scored off a corner kick to eventually take the 1-0 win. That victory was enough to send Uruguay through to the knockout stage, while Italy finished third in the group and did not advance.

Once FIFA reviewed the incident, punishment was harsh, and unprecedented. Suárez received a nine-match international ban, ruling him out for the rest of the World Cup, and was banned from any “football-related activities” for four months, including the start of the club season. He was also fined £66,000 (around $90,000), though that was a small amount given Suárez’s annual salary was in the millions.

Suárez missed Uruguay’s Round of 16 appearance, which the team lost to Colombia. The striker was with at the time, but was in process of transferring to ; that transfer did go through, but Suárez had to miss the first month of La Liga play after his appeal failed.