World Cup: Uruguay’s Luis Suarez says bite wasn’t intentional

It was hard to miss Luis Suarez biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder during a World Cup match on Tuesday, but the Uruguayan star had a simple explanation for the incident.

He just lost his balance.

“After the impact ... I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent,” Suarez wrote in a letter included in FIFA’s disciplinary committee ruling, according to the Associated Press.

“In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite,” Suarez continued.

The committee did not agree his version of the events, calling the bite “deliberate, intentional and without provocation.”

Suarez was suspended for nine games and banned from all football-related activities for four months in addition to receiving a fine of 100,000 Swiss francs.

The Uruguayan football federation notified FIFA on Friday that it would contest his punishment and has seven days to submit an appeal.

Despite his actions, Suarez received what could be described as a hero’s welcome upon his return to Uruguay, with more than 1,000 fans waiting to greet him at the Montevideo airport, according to the Telegraph.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, the Uruguay team prepared to face Colombia on Saturday without its best striker.