On This Day in 2013: Liverpool's Suarez sparked outrage by biting Chelsea's Ivanovic
Although Luis Suarez escaped a sending-off in a 2-2 draw against Chelsea after sinking his teeth in Branislav Ivanovic's shoulder on April 21, 2013, the Liverpool striker was subsequently punished with a 10-match ban.
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It was one of the most unfortunate incidents to have marred the game of football. On April 21, 2013, Liverpool's Luis Suarez netted his 30th goal of the Premier League season and helped the Reds secure a point at Anfield with an injury-time equaliser to make it 2-2 against Chelsea. However, that day is remembered for the Uruguayan biting the Blues Branislav Ivanovic on his right arm, which eventually led to a 10-match ban.
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Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool hosted Rafael Benitez's Chelsea nine years ago, as both teams braced themselves to secure a Champions League spot. The west London club took the lead after Brazil's Oscar headed the opener in the first half.
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However, Liverpool displayed a fine passage of play early in the second half that saw Daniel Sturridge net an equaliser with ease. Moments later, Chelsea's iconic playmaker Eden Hazard took the lead for the blues in the 56th minute from the spot after Suarez handled the ball inside the penalty area.
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Trailing 2-1 at home, the Reds threw everything at the visitors. However, Suarez went further and bit Ivanovic in his arm in the second half. Unfortunately, the incident did not catch the referee's eye, and the Uruguay international stayed on the pitch without getting sent off.
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Sadly for Chelsea, the Liverpool striker scored an equaliser in the 97th minute of the match through a near-post header that beat Petr Cech. After the game, Suarez took to Twitter to apologise for his behaviour. "I'm sad for what happened this afternoon, I apologise Ivanovic and all football world for my inexcusable behaviour. I'm so sorry about it!!," tweeted Suarez.
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Speaking about the event, Ivanovic later said, "When it happened, I was surprised and angry. But after the game, I calmed down, and all was forgotten. We spoke on the phone, I accepted the apology, the police did not press charges."
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Subsequently, the Football Association (FA) punished Suarez with a 10-match ban, making him miss the remainder of the 2012-13 season. When the forward returned to action in September for the next season, he led the Reds to a title challenge and clinched the Player of the Year award for his record-equalling 31 goals in 33 appearances.
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Remarkably, this was just one of three biting incidents for Suarez. In 2010, he was banned for seven games for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal as AFC Ajax's captain. Then, during the 2014 World Cup, the Uruguay international sunk his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder in his country's 1-0 win over Italy.
