Luis Suarez reveals that he is getting help in order to curtail his biting "impulse"
Uruguay and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has said in an exclusive interview to the Guardian that he has been receiving help in order to control his “impulse” for biting in the future. Suarez, who is set to finally make his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid in the El Clasico on Saturday, has been serving a 4-month ban from all football-related activities after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.
Acknowledging the fact that he has an issue, he said, "It is like an impulse, like a reaction.
"I believe I am on the right path now, dealing with the people who can help me, the right kind of people."
Suarez’s attack on Chiellini was not his first indiscretion either, having previously bitten PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in 2010 and Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic while playing in the Premier League for Liverpool in 2013.
Biting a natural reaction to pressure
When asked what prompts him to bite on a football field, Suarez said that it might just be his way of reacting to pressure. "Everyone has different ways of defending themselves. In my case, the pressure and tension came out in that way," he revealed.
"There are other players who react by breaking someone's leg, or smashing someone's nose across their face. What happened with Chiellini is seen as worse.
"I understand why biting is seen so badly."
Not at fault in racism row with Patrice Evra
Although Suarez admitted that he was in the wrong in all three of the biting incidents, he maintains that he was unfairly targeted in the racism controversy involving Manchester United’s Patrice Evra in October 2011, which led to him being banned for 8 matches and fined £40,000.
"I know I was wrong with the biting but I was accused of racism without any proof," Suarez said.