Luis Suarez: international reaction leaves no hiding place for Liverpool forward

As a country we have a tendency to obsess over public figures, sporting or otherwise. When a figure like Luis Suarez – a delicate balance of genius and psychopath – enters our national consciousness, every new moment of magic or scandal is met with increasing scrutiny.

In the build-up to the World Cup, Suarez’s often-rocky relationship with the UK had never been on sounder footing. His Football Writers’ Award seemed to suggest that we were beginning to get over the racism scandal involving Patrice Evra and the way in which he bit Branislav Ivanovic just over a year ago.

In fact, Suarez’s two goals against England appeared to be the moment we appreciated that the genius outweighed the unhinged nature of the man. The Uruguayan apparently took great delight in this, dedicating his almost freakish display to those in England that had questioned his attitude over the past two years, blaming the media for disproportionately focusing upon his misdemeanours.

But last night, when the final drops of water appeared to be disappearing under the bridge, Suarez inexplicably bit the shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini, and the debate was wrenched wide open once again. It would be a pointless exercise to examine the psychological and moral implications of his actions – people far more qualified than I am have already begun their extensive analyses.

(independent.co.uk)

But in the aftermath of Uruguay’s 1-0 victory over Italy, Oscar Tabarez tried to play down the incident, claiming that his forward “is the target of certain media, a certain press.” In doing so, the coach re-opened a different but equally interesting debate: whether or not Suarez is the victim of a British-led witch-hunt.

The response in this country was both significant and, in some quarters, fantastically over-dramatic. Whilst the hashtag #BanSuarez trended heavily in the UK, the BBC’s Danny Mills laughably insisted that Suarez should be “locked up forever.” With Mills also being an advocate of the introduction of B-teams into the English League system, one starts to wonder if he’s almost as unhinged as Suarez himself.

For the most part, though, the British reaction was not one of melodramatic shock, but measured disappointment in seeing a player that had treated us to a fantastic season in our Premier League revert to such Neanderthal ways.

Of course, there are understandable calls for Suarez to be punished as severely as FIFA can muster but it came alongside an expression of sympathy for Liverpool that the efforts of respected figures such as Brendan Rodgers and Steven Gerrard had fallen on deaf ears, while others - such as Everton manager Roberto Martinez - asked with some concern about the Uruguayan's mental health.

Disbelief and condemnation, sure, but hardly a knee-jerk reaction of outrage.

The Italian press have been equally forgiving, distracted by their own country’s failure to qualify from their World Cup group and Cesare Prandelli’s subsequent resignation.

Locally, however, the response was not nearly as low-key. Brazilian paper O Globo led this morning with the headline ‘Crazy Man’, whilst Rio’s Metro declared that Uruguay qualified ‘With Nails and Teeth.’ The Brazilians, less accustomed than the British to the unpredictability of the Liverpool forward, have launched a far more passionate assessment.

Back in Europe, the Spanish press have been similarly critical. Marca described him as ‘once again showing his ugly side’, whilst AS focused upon his ‘cannibalistic tendencies.’ Real Madrid and Barcelona have been linked with a move for the 27-year-old, but if the Uruguayan does move in search of a more lenient media he could well find himself severely disappointed.

Tabarez and Suarez will most probably bury their heads in the sand that the Uruguayan media have provided, as the country’s papers focus upon their team’s qualification at the expense of their star man’s discrepancies.

Perhaps it is advisable that they do, because international condemnation as FIFA decides his fate means Suarez can no longer hide behind cries of victimisation.