Controversial Uruguay striker Luis Suarez says he did not deliberately bite Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini according to his letter addressed to the FIFA disciplinary panel.
As reported by the Associated Press, Suarez wrote in Spanish: ''In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite."
He said that he lost his balance, making his body unstable and thus resulting to him falling on top of Chiellini. He said that as he hit his face against the player, he accidentally left a small bruise on his cheek and felt a strong pain in his teeth. The letter was addressed to FIFA and dated June 26, per AP.
But the panel did not accept Suarez's explanation, and called the bite deliberate, intentional and without provocation. This was written in the panel's report.
As part of the sanctions, Suarez won't be playing pro football for four months including nine games for Uruguay. He will also have to pay 100,000 Swiss francs ($112,000).
The seven-man panel was headed by ex-Switzerland international Claudio Sulser and also had members from Hong Kong, Pakistan, the Cook Islands, Singapore, South Africa, and Panama.
The panel also ruled that referee Marco Rodriguez of Mexico admitted having missed the controversial bite, as did his two assistants and another official. Rodriguez wrote in a witness submissions report that he did not see the incident since the ball was in another sector of the pitch.
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