Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has finally apologized for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup match and vowed there would never be a repeat of the incident.
After initially denying that he bit Chiellini, Suarez issued a carefully worded statement on Monday admitting his offense and remorse for his actions.
“After several days of being home with my family, I have had the opportunity to regain my calm and reflect on what occurred during the Italy-Uruguay match on 24 June,” he said in a statement published on his Twitter account.
The Italian football player bitten by Uruguay's Luis Suarez in a World Cup match earlier this week said the punishment handed down against Suarez was "excessive."
In a post on his website Friday, Chiellini said he has always considered the punishments enforced by governing organizations as absolute.
But he said in this case FIFA, the governing body for international football, went too far by banning Suarez from nine international matches and preventing him from participating in football-related activities for four months. Suarez was also fined $112,000 for the incident.
It was the harshest punishment ever handed down for an on-field incident at the World Cup.
Suarez bit Chiellini in the shoulder in a match won by Uruguay
Meanwhile, France on Monday beat Nigeria 2-0 to progress to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.