Luis Suarez needs to respect the game to earn respect

Giorgio Chiellini and Luis Suarez

Very few people are lucky enough to be successful doing what they love. Successful careers in music, movies, art, fashion and sport make up a decent number but represent a miniscule percentage of population. And as you increase the parameters of that success, it gets even lonelier at the top. It is in this backdrop that one must view the latest Suarez incident.

To be able to do what you love each and every day, to make yourself a monumental success from the game is such a rare opportunity, that it deserves a huge reciprocal respect towards the game. A truly great sportsperson gives back more to the game than he or she receives from it. Take Sachin Tendulkar for example, all his achievements on the field are dwarfed by his contribution to the game itself. Take Roger Federer, all his career earnings are a mere statistic compared to the joy he brought back to the big hitting game. Or Lionel Messi’s records and awards as compared to the sheer thrill he brought to the stands. Or Michael Jordan, Sergei Bubka, Usain Bolt among so many others. They all loved and respected the game they played and the game loved and respected them back in equal measure.

Let’s not make excuses for anyone. There’s no place for biting in the game of football. It doesn’t matter where the player came from, what his background is, what opposition he faces, whether the world is truly against him or anything else for that matter. The only thing that matters is that biting is not allowed on the football pitch. Period.

Suarez’s latest serial offence has to be seen as a serious lack of respect for the game. I don’t care what club he plays for, or if he owns a country for that matter, as a player representing his country at the absolute top level, he is liable to his fans (if there are any left they seriously need a relook at things), and he is liable to his team mates and his manager, and most of all he is liable to the game. Any sport tends to forgive a moment of madness, but such a serious serial show of disrespect is unlikely to be forgiven or forgotten. And rightly so.

Forget about comparing such behavior to other misdemeanors, using drugs, blatant cheating and match fixing may be worse crimes, but this is not a debate about which act is worse, this is only about Suarez’s third time biting incident in a match of high pedigree. It was wrong the first time, it was unacceptable the second time and now, well, words fail me. FIFA have to view this act as a final nail, that current punishments are ineffective against this player. They have to say to Suarez, “first time was your mistake, the second was ours, and this is just bloody the end of the line”.

As a sales guy if I go about biting my competitors every time things get intense, I’ll be out of a job before I can turn to the door, and that’s when the stakes are low. Suarez must be dealt with sternly, finally and in doing so, FIFA must set an example for the world to see. If he feels he’s always been vilified by the press, he would do well to remember that the cause was him. And his latest episode is a stretch too far for even him to twist into crazy tales.

In the end, whatever action is taken, Suarez has entrenched his name in the history books. A rare talent he remains, and if he is cut down at what is turning out to be the prime of his career, then it’ll be only because of him. If a huge ban is meted out and Liverpool have to suffer, I think they would happily do so, a great club with such history should want nothing to do with this multi fanged personality. If they were smart enough they would have included such a clause in their contract especially considering how well they know him.

In a world cup that has produced so much drama in the game, there was no need for this latest incident to rob the world of the right headlines. There are more than enough players playing their hearts out at these finals with the love and respect that the game deserves, and they deserve that space in the front pages, they’ve earned it. It’s time the game glorifies the heroes, and puts the rest behind.