Luis Suarez is set to move to Barcelona from Liverpool in the next few days but the Catalan giants will not be allowed to announce their new man with their usual fanfare. For previous high profile signings Barcelona have revealed them to the public and media through a large scale event at the Nou Camp which sees the stadium packed full of anticipating fans. Almost 90,000 looked the unveiling of Neymar giving the Brazilian international a welcome reception to one of La Liga's biggest sides. It seems unfortunate that Suarez will miss out on such a celebration but the terms of his ban mean that he is unable to even enter the stadium.
At first, it was rumoured that Barcelona may still decide to arrange a similar event for the prolific striker but in a different venue in order to adhere to his four month ban from “all football activity”. However, FIFA’s head of media Delia Fischer told the Press Association “He cannot be involved in a football-related public event irrespective of the venue.” which rules out unveiling the striker in a non football related venue as it would still breach the ban.
The 27 year old appealed against the four-month ban, plus a nine-match international and a £66,000 fine but had it rejected outright by FIFA’s appeals committee. In a final bid to reduce the sanctions and return to playing as soon as possible Suarez is expected to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). He can also ask CAS to put his ban on hold pending their final decision but in the long term that could risk him missing more matches rather than a chunk of the close season if the court upholds the sanctions.
Suarez’s lawyer claimed on Friday that the punishment was “blatantly draconian, totalitarian and fascist”. Alejandro Balbi told a Spanish radio station that “the right of a footballer to work is being violated, and football should be worried about that. Although he feels that the nine international game ban is excessive, the Uruguayan's lawyer seems most concerned about FIFA’s instance that the former Liverpool player is not to look football or train which means he is unable to carry out his job. Even Giorgio Chiellini posted on Twitter: “It’s all forgotten. I hope FIFA will reduce your suspension.” which suggests even he, the victim of the bite, wants to see Suarez return to football.
Under the terms of the four-month global ban, Suarez cannot enter a stadium or even train with his new Barcelona team-mates until the end of October when the suspension expires. Until then, the new singing will simply attend his medical then be unable to enter the Nou Camp unless there are any advances made with his appeal which at this stage appears unlikely.