The F.A. Regulatory Commission explained their decision to ban Liverpool forward Luis Suarez for ten games, saying it needed to be done to discourage such an event from happening again.
Suarez bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic's arm in an English Premier League game last Sunday. Since it was missed by referee Kevin Friend, the matter went to the F.A. with the regulatory commission then deciding to enforce an extra seven-match ban on top of the mandatory three-match suspension, after reviewing the T.V. evidence.
Both Liverpool and Suarez acted in shock at the length of the ban, expressing their disappointment, even though they eventually decided not to appeal the ban, after the reasons were sent to the club and the player.
"We believe it is our duty to discourage any players at any level from acting in such a deplorable manner or attempting to copy what they had seen on the television," the report said. "The incident of biting an opponent is alien to football and must remain so."
"It is completely unacceptable and such truly disgraceful behaviour could also lead to possible health issues.
"This truly shocking incident had been seen by millions of viewers both domestic and overseas, as well as generating a great deal of interest and debate amongst countless numbers of people.
"Whilst we accepted that Mr. Suarez's reputation had been impacted, these unsavoury pictures would have given a bad image of English football domestically and across the world alike.
"All players in the higher level of the game are seen as role models, have the duty to act professionally and responsibly, and set the highest example of good conduct to the rest of the game - especially to young players.
"In this regard and on this occasion, Mr. Suarez's conduct had fallen far below the standards expected of him."
The panel said they had taken Suarez's and Liverpool's apologies into consideration, but the striker's insistence that a three-match ban would suffice went against him.
"We took into consideration Mr. Suarez's apology, his personal statement, supporting letter from Mr Brendan Rodgers and the letter from Ms Zoe Ward (Liverpool's secretary)," it said.
"But when these were read in conjunction with Mr. Suarez's denial of the standard punishment that would otherwise apply for violent conduct is clearly insufficient, it seemed to us that Mr. Suarez has not fully appreciated the gravity and seriousness of this truly exceptional incident."
The panel also stressed that biting an opponent was a "reprehensible action," and something that should never happen on the field of play.
"We found that biting an opponent in itself was extremely shocking, unexpected and truly exceptional," the report added.
"The participants in a game of football do not expect to be bitten by another participant when they come to play football.
"In this incident, Mr. Ivanovic would not, and should not, have been expected to be subject to such a shocking and reprehensible action.
"The incidents of biting an opponent in football are very rare at the moment and we need to ensure that it will remain so."
Suarez had earlier explained his reasons not to appeal the ban. "I am truly very sorry about the incident with Branislav Ivanovic," he said in a statement. "I hope that all the people who I have offended at Anfield last Sunday will grant me forgiveness.
"I know that all the things that are happening to me in England will help me improve my conduct on the field. Right now I just want to focus on becoming a better footballer on and off the field.
"I would like to explain to everybody that I decided to accept the ban because whilst 10 games is clearly greater than those bans given in past cases where players have actually been seriously hurt, I acknowledge that my actions were not acceptable on the football pitch so I do not want to give the wrong impression to people by making an appeal.
"I really want to learn from what has happened in the last two and a half years, many things have been said and written about me, I just tried to do my best on the field. I hope to come back early to play."
