The Bite the Referee Missed, and the Ban Suárez Accepted

After Luis Suárez bit Otman Bakkal during Ajax’s goalless draw with PSV Eindhoven in November 2010, Bakkal pulled down his shirt to show a red mark on his collarbone. Referee Bjorn Kuipers had missed the incident, and Ajax’s captain went unpunished on the field. On November 24, Suárez accepted a seven-match domestic suspension.

The bite came in stoppage time, after Kuipers showed Ajax’s Rasmus Lindgren a straight red card for a rough tackle on PSV’s Ibrahim Afellay. According to BBC Sport, Suárez argued with Bakkal, who stood on his foot, and then bit the midfielder’s shoulder. The match finished 0–0, but the incident brought action first from Ajax and then from the Dutch football federation.

Ajax fined Suárez and imposed its own two-match suspension. The club said the fine would go to charity. The federation accused him of “a violent act — biting an opponent” and proposed a seven-match ban. Ajax said it would not appeal, meaning there would be no disciplinary hearing and the suspension would begin immediately.

The federation said it had taken Suárez’s previous conduct into account. He already had a suspended one-match ban following a red card in July’s season-opening Johan Cruyff Bowl match. The seven-match suspension covered six Eredivisie fixtures and a Dutch Cup tie against AZ, keeping him out of domestic competition until February 4, 2011.

The punishment did not extend to European competition: Suárez remained eligible for Ajax’s Champions League match against AC Milan on December 8. Neither he nor the club challenged the domestic sanction. “Ajax and Luis Suarez have accepted the KNVB’s settlement proposal of a seven-match suspension,” the club said.