At the 2014 World Cup, Luis Suarez bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini. FIFA banned the Uruguayan star for nine matches over the incident. Twelve years later, at another World Cup, Argentina’s Leandro Paredes has received a 10-match ban over a post-final scuffle. Drawing a comparison with Suarez’s punishment, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) has questioned Paredes’ sentence.
Several Argentina players became involved in a scuffle on the pitch after losing the World Cup final to Spain. FIFA banned Paredes for 10 matches over grabbing Spain’s Eric Garcia by the throat and shoving Gavi to the ground. He was also fined $90,000.
AFA legal adviser Andres Patton Yrigoyen claims Paredes’ punishment is “clearly excessive” relative to his actions. Argentina will appeal FIFA’s decision in an attempt to have the punishment reduced.
Yrigoyen told D Sports Radio: “If you compare Paredes’ ban with Suarez’s case in 2014, he was banned for nine matches even after biting an opponent. Yet Paredes got 10 matches. In our view, similar or lesser punishments have been handed down for even more serious incidents.”
Yrigoyen cited not just the Suarez case but another precedent as well. He claims a European footballer received a 10-match ban for displaying a Nazi symbol. According to AFA, these precedents call Paredes’ 10-match ban into question when measured against the severity of the punishment.
On this, Yrigoyen said: “We went through the videos frame by frame. Our assessment was that the punishment should have been lighter. The bans handed to Paredes and Molina are clearly excessive.”
Alongside Paredes, FIFA also banned Nahuel Molina for seven matches, with a $90,000 fine as well. Argentina assistant coach Roberto Ayala received a three-match ban and a $30,000 fine.
However, AFA’s legal adviser said there is no scope to appeal Thiago Almada’s one-match ban. As a result, the association is mainly focused on trying to reduce the punishments given to Paredes, Molina and Ayala.
AFA will now seek FIFA’s full written reasoning for the decision, after which it will appeal with evidence and legal argument. If the appeals commission upholds the punishment, Argentina is also considering taking the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Argentina does have an older precedent to point to. At World Cup qualifying for 2018, Lionel Messi was banned for four matches over allegations he insulted an assistant referee. That ban was later fully overturned on appeal.
Citing that precedent, AFA is now hoping to get Paredes’ and Molina’s punishments reduced as well. For now, though, their biggest question remains this: if Suarez’s punishment for biting an opponent was nine matches, why was Paredes banned for one match more over a scuffle after a World Cup final?
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