Chiellini believes Suarez ban is 'excessive'

Writing on his personal website, Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini expressed his belief that Luis Suarez was punished too harshly by FIFA for biting his left shoulder during Uruguay's 1-0 win over Italy on Tuesday.

As a result of the chomp, Suarez was banned from all football activities and stadiums for four months, suspended from Uruguay's next nine internationals, and fined. As a result, the forward will miss the remainder of the 2014 World Cup, the start of his club season, next year's Copa America and qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.

According to the victim of the striker's antics:

Inside me there are no feelings of joy, revenge or anger against Suarez for the incident, which happened on the pitch and is done. There only remains the anger and the disappointment about the match. At the moment, my only thought is for Luis and his family, because they will face a very difficult period.

I have always unequivocally considered the disciplinary interventions by the competent bodies, but at the same time I believe the proposed formula is excessive. I sincerely hope he will be allowed to stay close to his teammates during the games, because such a ban is really alienating for a player.

Uruguay's football federation has claimed that it will appeal the suspension, but the process won't begin until after the current tournament. Suarez has already left Brazil and traveled back to Uruguay.