Suarez's four-month playing ban for biting upheld

Suarez's four-month playing ban for biting upheld

BERNE, Switzerland - Uruguay forward Luis Suarez's four-month playing ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but he can now train with his new club Barcelona, CAS said on Thursday.

Suarez remains ineligible to play in official matches during the four-month period, and his nine-match international ban remains in place, but Suarez's legal team said that they had successfully argued that FIFA had misapplied its own rules when considering the case and the sanction it imposed on other football-related activities was disproportionate.

"As a result, Suarez is now permitted to train and attend matches with his Barcelona team mates in preparation for the new season," his lawyers said in a statement.

Suarez was suspended after sinking his teeth into Chiellini during the second half of Uruguay's 1-0 win in a World Cup group game on June 24.

After losing an appeal with football's world governing body FIFA, Suarez took his case to CAS, which conducted a hearing on the matter last Friday.

Suarez was a Liverpool player at the time of the biting incident but has since joined Barcelona for a fee put at 81 million euros (S$135 million) by local media.

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