Luis Suarez bite: Reaction to Fifa's four-month ban from world football

Fifa's decision to give Uruguay striker Luis Suarez a four-month ban from world football for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini has made headlines around the globe.

He will now miss nine international matches and the first nine games of the Premier League season for Liverpool, as well as three Champions League matches.

The World Cup ban is the third he has been handed for biting someone during his career.

Here BBC Sport rounds up reaction to Thursday's ruling and the possible repercussions for club and country.

Uruguay's Luis Suarez grabs his teeth after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini

Former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen

"I think the punishment's fair. Obviously, the worrying thing for any Liverpool supporter was that there was very little or no provocation, and the question is: Will he do it again?

"Liverpool have got to draw a line under this and say: 'One more indiscretion and it's over.' If you've got talent, there will always be other clubs interested. It's terribly sad for Suarez, who after the Branislav Ivanovic incident, won the hearts of everybody in United Kingdom with the way he played. But it's a case of: 'Here we go again.'

"You can never condone it. You can semi-understand it if people are elbowing him but there was no provocation whatsoever."

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has now been banned for biting three times in his career

South American football expert Tim Vickery

"It is a more severe ban than I thought it would be. I thought it would be restricted to this World Cup. Uruguay's task now is to focus on the upcoming Colombia game without Luis Suarez.

"In Uruguay, there is not the moral outrage that the English press has when it deals with this issue so there is no question that, once his ban is served, he will be selected by Uruguay. He is out of the Copa America next year and will probably miss the first of the World Cup qualifiers on the road to Russia.

"This is an individual who has a self-control problem. You hope people around him will stop living in denial and help deal with the problem."

Suarez received a 10-game ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in 2013

Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson

"It's just a case of 'here we go again', isn't it? What does Liverpool owner John Henry do now? I would think he wants to wash his hands of Suarez.

"Henry will try and get the best possible deal for Liverpool. Somebody will buy him. It is football when all is considered."

Former Liverpool winger John Barnes

"It is the punishment I expected. It's difficult when setting precedence for situations like this. From a Fifa perspective, nine games is a long time in international football. Although his World Cup is over, it could be another 18 months before he plays again for Uruguay. There's nothing Fifa can do but enforce the rules.

"There was talk about him leaving Liverpool before, possibility with Barcelona interested in him. Whether Liverpool want to sell him or wait for the ban to be over, only Liverpool can answer that question."

Suarez (right) was sent off in the 2010 World Cup quarter-final for handling a Ghana shot on the line

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin

"The ban could have been longer. I was guessing six months. Liverpool is a fabulous club, it is a proud club and it does not need someone doing what he has done.

"There are lots of hints about Barcelona and Real Madrid being interested in him before this incident and it probably makes it easier for a move to happen. Football does not have morality when it comes to these kinds of matters. If they were interested in him and decided against a move because of this, I would be astounded."

Further reaction

Former USA goalkeeper and BBC pundit Brad Friedel: "It is completely fair. Fifa acted swiftly. There was a lot of furore in our neck of the woods but here in Brazil they didn't think it was that big of a deal. Fifa reacted and have handed out the punishment, which is the longest and severest in a World Cup. I would agree with it."

Fifa vice president Jim Boyce: "I think the punishment handed out to Luis Suarez is fully justified. Hopefully he will have learnt that this type of behaviour cannot be tolerated."

World Cup winner and former Brazil striker Ronaldo: "Football must set an example and show examples of good players. People who are out of line must be punished.

"If my little children bite me, they are sent to the dark room with the big bad wolf. This is football's equivalent."

Former England defender and BBC pundit Phil Neville: "Fifa have got it spot-on. Speaking to the locals here in Brazil, they actually can't believe it has been made so dramatic in England. He needs to start learning that he can't do that on the football pitch."

The reaction in Uruguay

Uruguay captain Diego Lugano: "Indignation, impotence, I think that's what we all feel. We'd all like a fairer world, but that world simply does not exist. Those who rule, rule, and the strong ones are the strong ones.

"Keep feeling proud of Suarez, he deserves it. Nothing will stop us. We will carry on with humility, union, determination, recognition of mistakes, and with our heads always high."

Andreas Campomar, Uruguayan author of Golazo! A History of Latin American Football: "What is incomprehensible is the vitriol with which the English press, in particular, have gone after the Uruguayan. Far worse things have happened on the pitch, even where English players are concerned.

"For many Latin Americans, the ban will have wider repercussions. It will be construed as the usual high-handedness Europe employs in relation to Latin America. A case of one rule for them and one rule for us."

Uruguay sports minister Liliam Kechichian: "This disproportionate sanction hurts us. We now have to see how we can help the human being (Suarez) and how the team shows the best it has and its love for the country's colours."

Uruguayan newspaper La Republica: "Fifa crucified Suarez and kicked him out of the World Cup.

"The 2014 World Cup in Brazil will go down in history as the one in which Fifa 'ex officio' stripped Uruguay of its most powerful weapon."

Robert Lima, winner of several Uruguayan championships with Penerol: "We should withdraw from the World Cup, because what they have done is so lamentable. But at least we can go forward with dignity."