Supporters rally to Suarez

As the world was judging Uruguay's Luis Suarez for biting a player in the World Cup, his teammates, coaches and fans in his soccer-crazy homeland defended the star, instead blaming foreign media, his Italian opponents and uneven treatment.

World Cup organizers scrambled on Wednesday to quickly decide on a punishment before Uruguay plays Colombia on Saturday in the round of 16.

"We have to resolve it either today or tomorrow," FIFA disciplinary panel member Martin Hong told reporters on Wednesday evening. "It's our duty to see justice done."

A day after he tangled with defender Giorgio Chiellini, Suarez was coping well, according to the president of the Uruguay football federation.

"Luis is fine; he's been through 1001 battles," Wilmar Valdez told the website Tenfield.com. "We all know who Luis is and that's why we have to defend him."

The bite - just before Uruguay scored the clinching goal to eliminate four-time champion Italy - will now test FIFA president Sepp Blatter's oft-quoted commitment to "fair play, discipline and respect."

Blatter, who was in the crowd for the Uruguay-Italy match at Natal, has pledged zero tolerance for the darker side of the game.

Many are questioning where that leaves a star player like Suarez who has a history of disciplinary problems, including separate bans of seven and 10 matches for biting opponents in the Netherlands and England.

Valdez said Uruguay officials were sent a video of the incident by FIFA, and would respond with footage showing Suarez - a striker for Liverpool and last season's player of the year in England's Premier League - as a victim of Italian aggression.

"When he falls, several substitutes insult him on the ground and some members of Italy's staff even came out of the bench to try to hit him," Valdez said, suggesting FIFA could investigate Italy.

Uruguay also will cite Brazil star Neymar getting only a yellow card in a clash with a Croatia player, Valdez said.

Uruguay federation board member Alejandro Balbi, who is Suarez's lawyer, blamed European media reporting.

"This happened because there have been campaigns launched by the media in England and Italy," Balbi told Uruguayan radio Sport 890.

Suarez's teammate Diego Lugano agreed.

"The British media has a vendetta against Suarez, and everyone knows that," he said. "It's obvious the vendetta sells newspapers in England, otherwise you wouldn't be here.

"Uruguay and Italy played yesterday. On Saturday Uruguay plays Colombia. I don't know why there's a British journalist asking about Suarez."

Lugano said he had seen "much more violent plays" than the bite at the World Cup.

"It was a normal taunt in football, and the world press ends up talking about something totally trivial," he said.

FIFA's case against Suarez will be managed by a Swiss lawyer, Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee. A former international forward himself, Sulser formerly headed FIFA's ethics court.

Sulser can choose to judge the offense within the scale of typical red-card incidents. A three-match ban might then be appropriate, banishing Suarez at least until the World Cup final, should Uruguay advance that far.

The maximum penalty would be a ban of 24 international matches.

FIFA can also choose to ban Suarez for up to two years. That would cover club and international games and would ruin a widely speculated transfer to Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Completing the case ahead of Saturday's match could be complicated if Suarez appeals. That challenge could go directly to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland for an urgent and binding ruling.

However, one option open to FIFA and Sulser to avoid that scenario is that a suspension of "fewer than three matches or of up to two months" cannot be appealed, according to FIFA rules.

Already, one of Suarez's sponsors said it was "reviewing our relationship with him."

"We will not tolerate unsporting behavior," 888poker said in a Twitter message.

Last month, the firm announced a global endorsement contract with Suarez, a poker enthusiast.

German sportswear manufacturer adidas, which also has Suarez as a client and is FIFA's longest standing World Cup sponsor, said it is monitoring the case.

Meanwhile, Suarez was criticized by Uruguay football great Alcides Ghiggia, the last survivor of the team that defeated Brazil to win the 1950 World Cup.

TUNE IN

Sunday, Beijing time

(second round)

00:00 Brazil vs Chile

CCTV-1, CCTV-5

04:00 Colombia vs Uruquay

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