36 Days to the World Cup: Luis Suárez banned for 4 months after infam…

The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event.

Two years after retiring from international duty, Luis Suárez has left behind a complicated legacy. While the star Uruguayan forward might be considered one of the greatest strikers of all time, he is also known for his on-field antics. sports24.club

Perhaps the most infamous is in the 2014 World Cup, when Suárez bit Italian Giorgio Chiellini in the 79th minute of the third and final group stage game. With the score at 0-0, Suárez clashed with the Italian defender in the box before sinking his teeth into Chiellini’s shoulder. Suárez then fell to the ground, clutching his face and later grabbing at his teeth.

While the foul was obvious on replay, the referee did not call it, despite Chiellini lowering his jersey to show the bite marks on his shoulder.

Moments later, Uruguay scored off a corner kick to eventually take the 1-0 win. That victory was enough to send Uruguay through to the knockout stage, while Italy finished third in the group and did not advance.

Once FIFA reviewed the incident, punishment was harsh, and unprecedented. Suárez received a nine-match international ban, ruling him out for the rest of the World Cup, and was banned from any “football-related activities” for four months, including the start of the club season. He was also fined £66,000 (around $90,000), though that was a small amount given that Suárez’s annual salary was in the millions.

Suárez missed Uruguay’s Round of 16 appearance, which the team lost to Colombia. The striker was with Liverpool at the time, but was in process of transferring to Barcelona; that transfer did go through, but Suárez had to miss the first month of La Liga play after his appeal failed.

Somehow, that 2014 incident was the third time in his career that Suárez has gotten in trouble for biting opponents. A year before chomping on Chiellini, while at Liverpool, Suárez bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanović and was eventually banned for 10 games; before that, he was suspended seven matches for biting someone while at Ajax.

Suárez will not be competing this summer, after retiring from international play in 2024. But if you’re worried he’s lost his edge as he finishes out his career with Inter Miami, don’t worry: He got in trouble last summer for spitting on an opposing staff member after sparking a brawl after the Leagues Cup Final.

Despite denying talks with Real Madrid last week, it appears that Jose Mourinho is now holding initial talks with Los Blancos over a return to the club. Mourinho has been backed as the favourite to replace Alvaro Arbeloa this summer, with President Florentino Perez in favour of a second stint at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Mourinho said he had not spoken to Real Madrid last Friday, with the Benfica manager still having a year left on his deal in Portugal. Widespread reports have suggested that he would be keen on a return to the Bernabeu too though, and if Perez also gives the green light, then it seems likely a deal will go through.

Mourinho makes demands for Real Madrid return

It has been reported by ESDiario that Mourinho held a meeting via video call with Real Madrid on Tuesday, in which he communicated his conditions for a return to the club. Despite being grateful for the interest in him, he is not willing to come on any terms, and this information has been backed up by Ramon Alvarez de Mon.

‘The Special One’ is keen on a two-year contract to return, to avoid being seen as a band aid, or being tied in to a long deal. He also wants full control over his selection choices, without interference from Perez or anyone else, something that has not been the case for some time. He would bring in his own coaching staff of seven, and Perez suppoedly has suggested that he add Arbeloa to his staff.

Going the other way would be fitness coach Antonio Pintus, who was brought back by the club in January with Arbeloa, but has been unable to inspire dramatic change on the injuries front. Mourinho would also require a direct line of communication with the medical staff. By the same token, he only wants to be dealing with Perez as his point of contact, rather than Advisor Anas Laghrari or General Manager Jose Angel Sanchez.

Preseason tours are another issue Mourinho wants control of, keen to avoid the heavy impact of a tour to the Middle East or North America. And finally, he wants to be able to trim his squad accordingly, getting rid of as many as seven players that he does not believe are up to standard.

Which players could depart Real Madrid this summer?

It is not specified which players Mourinho would want to move on, but while that number sounds high, it is not entirely surprising. Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal are out of contract this summer, while Dani Ceballos is also expected to leave. The likes of Fran Garcia, Eduardo Camavinga, Franco Mastantuono, Gonzalo Garcia and Raul Asencio are not guaranteed their spots in the squad next season either.

The possibility of Jose Mourinho returning to Real Madrid is beginning to gather serious momentum, but the Portuguese coach reportedly has very clear ideas about how a second spell at the Santiago Bernabeu would work.

With uncertainty continuing to surround Madrid’s managerial situation ahead of next season, Mourinho has once again emerged as one of the strongest names linked with the role.

The experienced coach remains highly appreciated by club president Florentino Perez, who reportedly sees him as a figure capable of restoring authority, competitiveness and intensity inside a dressing room that has faced growing scrutiny this season.

What makes the situation even more interesting is that Mourinho has already started gathering information.

As reported before, the former Madrid manager has made informal contact with figures close to the club, including people inside the dressing room, in an attempt to better understand the current atmosphere at Valdebebas.

Despite these developments, however, Mourinho is not willing to return under just any conditions.

As confirmed by Sergio Valentin, the manager has already put forward three demands if he is to take over the Real Madrid bench next season.

What are the conditions?

The first condition concerns contract length. Mourinho reportedly wants a guaranteed two-year deal, giving him enough time to rebuild and stabilise the project properly rather than working under immediate short-term pressure.

The second request is linked to media responsibilities. During his first spell at Real Madrid, Mourinho often became the public face defending the club through constant controversy and tension.

This time, the Portuguese coach wants a different structure. He only wishes to appear in mandatory football-related press conferences and discuss first-team sporting matters.

Mourinho has three conditions to return to Real Madrid. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

For institutional issues, controversies or club politics, he wants Real Madrid to appoint another official spokesperson.

That demand reportedly comes from the exhaustion Mourinho experienced during his previous years in Madrid, when he frequently felt isolated while defending the club publicly.

The third condition may be the most sensitive, as Mourinho wants complete control over his own coaching staff.

That would mean arriving with his trusted team and potentially moving away from several figures currently involved behind the scenes.

The report specifically claims that Antonio Pintus would not form part of Mourinho’s plans, although the Portuguese coach would not oppose Alvaro Arbeloa remaining connected to the first team in some capacity.

Perez’s response

So far, Florentino Perez’s response has been, “We’ll talk about it.”

The Madrid president is understood to have told Mourinho’s camp that discussions would continue, without immediately agreeing to the requested conditions.

That reaction has apparently left Mourinho and his agent, Jorge Mendes, somewhat disappointed, as they were hoping for a more direct commitment from the club.

This means for now, the decision rests entirely with Florentino Perez to make the move.

Madrid mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has strongly criticized UEFA following Atlético de Madrid's elimination in the Champions League semifinals against Arsenal.

According to the mayor, the refereeing in the second leg was decisive in the final outcome, suggesting a "predetermined intent" to harm the red-and-white side.

"When I saw the draw, I thought we had been drawn against Arsenal, and I was wrong — we were drawn against UEFA, and UEFA has made it clear that it did not want Atlético de Madrid to be in the Champions League final," commented the top official of the Spanish capital.

Almeida expressed his outrage over the choice of Daniel Seibert for the match, pointing to a conflict of interest due to the battle between Spain and Germany for the fifth European spot. "It is incomprehensible that they appointed a German referee when Spain and Germany are competing for the fifth Champions League spot," he stressed.

More controversy over refereeing decisions

One of the most controversial points highlighted was the penalty not awarded to Giuliano Simeone. Almeida denounced the lack of clear images during the broadcast regarding the striker's alleged offside.

In his words, "It is incomprehensible that there is not a single replay of Giuliano's offside when it was a crystal-clear penalty. We later saw on social media that it was not offside and that he started from his own half. It was not offside and they did not want to admit it."

The criticism also focused on the amount of stoppage time added. "It is clear proof that the referee wanted that match to end as soon as possible and for Arsenal to go to Budapest rather than Atlético de Madrid," Almeida said.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.