It has certainly been a very boring and worrisome summer for new Barcelona star Luis Suarez as he awaits the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision concerning his four-month ban which included a £66,000 fine and a nine-match ban at international level.
Suarez was slapped by FIFA with a lengthy ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in a group stage match at the 2014 FIFA World Cup back in June. The punishment denied the ex-Liverpool forward from enjoying an official presentation at the Camp Nou after joining the Blaugrana for £75M. The player's lawyer, Alejandro Balbi, was quoted as saying in Uruguayan newspaper El Observador:
“It would be more logical to reduce the sanction by a few months than to reduce the ban concerning international games, because legally it’s easier to contend against the terms of the suspension that forbid him from training and from being at the club, because they violate fundamental rights.”
On Wednesday morning, a statement read:
“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will announce its decision in the matter Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona & the Uruguayan FA on Thursday 14 August 2014 at around 3pm. This case was heard on 8 August 2014 at the CAS offices in Lausanne.
“At the request of the Appellants and with the agreement of FIFA, the CAS has conducted an expedited arbitration procedure. As a consequence, the CAS Panel has accepted to render its decision within a short period of time but with grounds to follow later.”
The Uruguayan striker, who was expulsed from the World Cup in Brazil, will be out of action until late October if the CAS does not favour his appeal to reduce his ban.
