Sir Patrick Stewart has said that Uruguay and its President are in denial about Luis Suarez.

The South American number nine bit the dust as far as the World Cup was concerned when FIFA banned him for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini last week.

But Sir Patrick, lifelong football fan and president of Huddersfield Town Academy, was particularly perturbed by the reactions of the Uruguayans and their President José Mujica, who gave Suarez a hero’s welcome in Montevideo last Friday.

Speaking at Wimbledon this week, he said: “I think he’s very lucky. He’s clearly someone in trouble and you’ve got to feel bad for anybody who’s in so much trouble.

“But what has been especially disappointing is the reactions of the other Uruguayans. And the nation, in fact, from the President down, who seem to be in absolute denial about what an abhorrent guy Suarez is.”

Uruguay's Luis Suarez on the bench before the Costa Rica match
Uruguay's Luis Suarez

He added: “He’s got previous, as they say. And when someone is so phenomenally talented, we always have expectations that other qualities will be as fine as that and of course that’s not always the case.

“So I feel that it’s been a blight on the championship and I’m sorry about that. I absolutely love the game and it’s terrifically unfortunate that it could happen the way it did. And of course it now means a great player has been taken out of the competition, which is quite right of course.”

Suarez was by seen by tens of millions of TV viewers sinking his teeth into Chiellini’s shoulder in a sequence which has been replayed in slow motion countless times around the world. He was then seen dramatically falling to the ground clutching his prominent front teeth.

Unrepentant, the Uruguayan told the FIFA disciplinary panel that he toppled over and fell on to the Italian defender.

He said: “I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent. At that moment I hit my face against the player leaving a small bruise on my cheek and a strong pain in my teeth.”

The explanation was dismissed by the FIFA disciplinary panel, which dubbed the attack “deliberate, intentional and without provocation.”

Suarez has been banned from all football for four months, plus nine international matches, and fined 100,000 Swiss francs (around £65,000).

Sir Patrick added that England’s first 20 minutes against Italy were as exciting as any since 1966 and he was glad that Roy Hodgson was staying on.

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