FIFA to study report before deciding Suarez ban

[July 03, 2010]  JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Luis Suarez's intentional handball to save a goal could earn him more than a one-game suspension.

FIFA will study reports from the Uruguay-Ghana World Cup quarterfinal before deciding how long to suspend Suarez for his handball that denied the Africans victory. The Uruguay striker could be suspended for the World Cup final should Uruguay beat the Netherlands in their semifinal Tuesday -- a match Suarez must sit out for a mandatory ban.

"The disciplinary committee will be looking at that incident," FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola said Saturday. "We don't have any timing on when they will meet to take that decision."

Should Uruguay lose to the Dutch, it will play in the third-place game, and Suarez also could be suspended for that match next Saturday.

FIFA rules call for suspensions of "at least one match" if the panel finds a player guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct toward an opponent.

Suarez swatted away a header by Ghana's Dominic Adiyiah at the very end of extra time with the score 1-1. Ghana's Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty with the final kick of the match, hitting the crossbar, as Suarez looked on from the entrance to the players' tunnel.

Uruguay won the ensuing shootout 4-2.

Suarez, who has three goals in the tournament, said it was "complicated" to be sent off at a World Cup.

"But the way in which I was sent off -- truth is, it was worth it," Suarez said.

[Associated Press; By GRAHAM DUNBAR]

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