Luis Suarez

[rantdeville 195]

No way. There's no way he did it again. He's got a serious issue.

[FabHazard 655]

22 April 2013 Last updated at 18:21 GMT

Luis Suarez row: How often do adults bite?

By Gerry HoltBBC News

Liverpool footballer Luis Suarez has courted controversy yet again, this time by biting an opponent on the arm. How often do adults bite?

Striker Luis Suarez has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association and is facing a ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic on the arm.

It's behaviour that is expected among unruly toddlers, but not from an adult.

Suarez has done it before. In 2010, while at Ajax in Amsterdam, he was banned for seven matches for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal's shoulder.

And there have been other cases in football. Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe was booked in 2006 and afterwards accused of trying to bite the arm of West Ham midfielder Javier Mascherano. On this occasion the authorities took no further action.

In rugby too, there have been high-profile cases.

South Africa prop Johan le Roux was sent home from a tour of New Zealand in 1994 after being found guilty of biting the ear of opposition captain Sean Fitzpatrick. He also received an 18-month ban.

More recently, England rugby player Dylan Hartley was suspended for eight weeks for biting Ireland player Stephen Ferris during a Six Nations match.

But probably the most infamous bite in sport happened during the boxing match now dubbed the "Bite Fight".

Mike Tyson bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield's ear and spat it on the ground as the pair fought for the world heavyweight title in 1997. Tyson was later disqualified.

Sports psychologist Dr Thomas Fawcett, of the University of Salford, says biting is rare in most sports - but in contact sports it can be more of an issue.

In rugby rucks and mauls, where players are in close contact and protected from view, or in boxing where the action moves on very quickly - in effect, in situations where people believe they might just get away with it - biting can be more frequent.

But mostly it is a primitive response where the emotion precedes the thought process, and this is true of the Suarez case, Dr Fawcett believes.

"It's not pre-planned - it's a very spontaneous, emotional response. He's doing it on impulse," says the psychologist, who has studied the footage extensively.

Most often biting is a sign of frustration. A negative response when tensions reach boiling point, he says.

In this particular case, there were "niggles" between Suarez and Ivanovic throughout the match. "A lot of the game was played in sheer frustration from Suarez's point of view," he says.

The player had just given away a penalty and that was the final straw. "He took it out on the arm of the Chelsea player."

But when else might an adult bite?

It is hard to estimate how common bites are, as records are usually only kept of bites that were serious enough to require hospital treatment. Many are not.

The most recent figures for England suggest there are about 6,000 cases of dog bites a year, and 2,500 cases due to other bites, including human.

Prof David Wilson, a criminologist at Birmingham City University, says biting can be used in crime - by a victim trying to fend off an attacker or by the perpetrator who wants to mark the victim symbolically.

Biting is classed as a common assault and any punishment would depend on the specifics of the case, he says.

"[biting is carried out] to mark a victim. But I think what's more important to the perpetrator is that it reveals something about how they viewed that particular victim," he says. Often it is a hallmark of very violent or sexual crime.

There is absolutely no way of knowing how common its use as a weapon is, says Wilson, because it is most often carried out with other behaviour, such as strangulation, stabbing or sex assault.

It is generally unusual in other crimes, for example a fight in a pub, he says.

"You have to get very close to your victim to bite them and if you get very close they might harm you - so you might [prefer to] throw a punch," he says.

He adds: "[biting] is quite a niche thing."

A baby will learn quickly that biting is wrong, for example during breast feeding, and this will be reinforced at the language stage, says Wilson.

Police say they will not take any action against Suarez, with Ivanovic not reporting any physical injury and informing police he does not want to take the matter further.

But Suarez has been offered anger management therapy.

Dr Fawcett thinks this is likely to have a minimal effect. "It's in the man," he says. "I would think that in five years' time if there was a certain nerve hit or chord rung with Suarez in a different situation he would react in the same way."

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

Its ok Liverpool fans will claim he never bit him, and the media hav it in for him. "Always the victims"

[Pizy 18,985]

everything I've ever said about wanting this guy... well, disconsider it. He's too disgusting for me to want him anywhere near my team.

Same here. He was my dream choice as I thought he'd finally turned a new lead after an incident free season.

This is just insane now. Hope he gets a 1 year ban from all football.

[iseah100 5,612]

Its ok Liverpool fans will claim he never bit him, and the media hav it in for him. "Always the victims"

They already are. Went to Rawk. "He just ran into his shoulder." Lol

[BlueSunshine 672]

The dirty scouser cunt needs to be castrated, a ban is not enough this time.

[Rom2013 446]

I think he will have problems in the club (maybe he will continue in Liverpool not just because of the punishment but because Madrid os Braça won't want a player like this). FiFA should punish him for months, for not only what he did but also because it's the third time.

[Korea 734]

Does suarez dope up or something?

Why does he bite people?

[pHaRaOn 2,131]

Confirmed

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

Football is played on instincts, you rarely have time to think much at all. When your instinct causes you to bite people you can't control that, it's happened twice, it will happen again. People say what was he thinking doing that, it's simple, he wasn't, and you shouldn't expect him to either. It will happen again, it's just part of who he is. You buy him, you take the bad with the good, he won't be able to change himself and nothing wrong with that, but I just don't want him at Chelsea. I'll enjoy watching him play, sometimes I'll cheer for him, sometimes I'll cuss him out but I don't want to do that while he's wearing our Blue.

I called it. I knew it would happen again. Dude is messed up.

[xPetrCechx 13,578]

[Eidur the Spider 4,515]

[Belgiannutt 3,201]

Third time he's done this. Something needs to be done. I don't care how good a player he is, enough is enough. Needs to be banned for the entire WC and longer.

Wouldn't be suprised if the FIFA completely ingnores this though.

[Special Juan 28,187]

Not surprised at all.

[Term-X 7,891]

They'll need new t-shirts..

[ChelseaFanUK 1,014]

Daniel Geey ‏@FootballLaw 2m

Re Suarez bite, if found guilty, usually FIFA suspensions relate to national team but sanctions can be "all football related activity".

[MrBlueGuy 1,552]

Does suarez dope up or something?

Why does he bite people?

Human flesh tastes good

[Special Juan 28,187]

Make him an example, ban him for life.

[thedrog108 39]

Sorry suarez but

EUTHANASIA FOR YOU!!!!

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]