The president of Uruguay, José Mujica, has called Fifa “a bunch of old sons of bitches” in another verbal attack on football’s world governing body following Luis Suárez’s lengthy ban for biting the Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.
The 79-year-old also described the Liverpool striker’s four-month suspension from all football, plus nine international matches and a £65,000 fine, as a “fascist ban”.
Mujica, who had said previously that Suárez was being punished by Fifa because of his humble background, continued his verbal assault at a reception for the Uruguay team after they returned home from the World Cup following their 2-0 defeat to Colombia in the last 16.
Asked what his lasting memory of the World Cup would be, Mujica said: “Fifa are a bunch of old sons of bitches.” The president then covered his mouth to feign shock at what he had just said, but when asked if he wanted to rectify his comments, he responded: “Publish it.”
Mujica then conceded that Suárez deserved to be punished for his bite on Chiellini during last week’s World Cup Group D clash in Natal – the third such incident in the Uruguay striker’s professional career - but criticised the severity of the ban. “They could have punished him but not given him this fascist ban,” added Mujica.
The Uruguay football federation has informed Fifa it will appeal against Suárez’s ban. On Saturday, it emerged that the player’s defence against a charge of biting an opponent was that he lost his balance and hit his face on Chiellini’s shoulder. Those claims were dismissed by Fifa’s seven-man disciplinary committee before imposing the punishment on the 27-year-old.