LUIS SUAREZ will be offered the chance to continue his tainted career at Barcelona as the Spanish giants press ahead with plans to sign the Liverpool striker despite his World Cup shame.
Luis Suarez claimed to have hurt his teeth in the incident with Giorgio Chiellini[GETTY]But sources in Spain claimed a swap deal involving Chile superstar Alexis Sanchez had been mooted and Suarez was close to agreeing personal terms with the Catalan club.
Barcelona have emerged as favourites for Suarez ahead of rivals Real Madrid, with the latest controversy in the forward's career seemingly doing little to curtail interest in him.
Fifa's six-strong disciplinary committee were due to meet last night to study video footage of the flashpoint in which Suarez is accused of sinking his teeth into the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's 1-0 win in Natal on Tuesday.
His third biting disgrace has seen a raft of criticisms, most notably from former Liverpool captain and assistant manager Phil Thompson, who described it as a "kick in the face" after the support shown to him by Liverpool.
There is a possibility that they ban him, because there are precedents, but we're convinced that it was an absolutely casual play
Thompson said: "You think of the support the guy has had from Brendan Rodgers, [owner] John Henry and majority of the fans at Liverpool.
"It has happened on the international stage. This is worse than the first two bites]. This is the world's media. Everyone is looking at this and wanting to see what happens. At the end of the day he is a Liverpool player. He plays for my football club. He's brought embarrassment and shame on our football club.
"For him to do this is a massive shock. It's been disgraceful to be honest."
And former England manager Graham Taylor said: "If you look at Suarez's reaction afterwards it's like he knows what he has done. This is a person who definitely needs some help."
Suarez is facing a huge suspension but, incredibly, Uruguay FA board member Alejandro Balbi, who doubles as the player's lawyer, said the player was being victimised.
Chiellini tried to show the match referee teeth marks in his shoulder [GETTY]Balbi said: "There's a lot of pressure from England and Italy. You shouldn't forget that we're rivals of many and we can be for the organiser [hosts Brazil] in the future. This does not go against what might have happened but there's no doubt that Suarez is a rock in the shoe for many.
"There is a possibility that they ban him, because there are precedents, but we're convinced that it was an absolutely casual play, because if Chiellini can show a scratch on one shoulder, Suarez can show a bruised and almost shut eye.
"If every player starts showing the injuries he suffers and they open inquiries for them everything will be way too complicated in the future. We're going to use all the arguments possible so that Luis gets out in the best possible way."
It is the third biting incident of Suarez's career following the previous attacks on PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal and Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, which resulted in seven and 10 match bans respectively.
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