Luis Suarez almost sank Barcelona move with Georgio Chiellini bite and pathetic excuse

Luis Saurez's infamous bite on Italy star Giorgio Chiellini almost led to him scuppering his big-money move to Barcelona.

The Uruguay striker was taking on Italy in the group stages of the 2014 World Cup, with the winner of the clash booking their place in the last 16. Rather than be remembered for a stunning goal though, Suarez's actions during the game went down in history for all the wrong reasons.

As the ball was being flicked in the air by a succession of Uruguay attackers and Italian defenders, Suarez ran towards Chiellini in the box. Virtually as soon as the pair collided, and with Chiellini looking towards the ball, Suarez grabbed his arm and bit his shoulder, having two clear attempts to bite him.

Chiellini immediately recoiled, with both players falling to the ground, with Suarez not even being booked for his actions after bizarrely clutching his teeth. The matter was subsequently brought before a FIFA disciplinary panel after referee Marco Rodríguez admitted missing the incident.

The seven-member panel handed down a stunning four-month ban, which prevented him from taking part in any football-related activity, even as a spectator. Suarez himself was invited to make a defence to the panel, penning a letter in which he provided a quite frankly pathetic excuse.

“In no way it happened how you have described, as a bite or intent to bite. After the impact … I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. At that moment I hit my face against the player, leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth," he said.

Suarez's attempted defence fell on deaf ears though, with the panel ruling he had attempted to bite Chiellini having studied 34 camera angles of the