Luis Suarez Sponsorship with 888poker Under Review After World Cup Biting Incident
888poker.com has put the sponsorship contract with football star Luis Suarez "under review" after the Uruguay striker appeared to bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup match on Tuesday.
888poker wrote the following from its official Twitter account on Wednesday:
Following recent allegations made against Luis Suárez, we are reviewing our relationship with him. We will not tolerate unsporting behavior.
— 888poker (@888poker)
During the decisive match that Uruguay played against Italy on Tuesday, Suarez appeared to have bitten Italy's Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder while the referee was not watching.
"He bit me, it’s clear, I still have the mark," Chiellini told Italian public television Rai right after the match. "The referee should have blown his whistle and given him a red card, also because he was simulating."
If confirmed in an investigation by FIFA, the bite could cost Suarez his participation in the next stages of the World Cup as well as several of his sponsorship deals. Adidas and headphones supplier Beats are reportedly reconsidering their contracts with the player.
888.com signed Suarez as brand ambassador on May 14, explaining that the room had chosen him because he is "an incredible sporting talent; passionate, competitive, technically gifted, and emotionally invested in the game. It’s those qualities that make him an exciting player to watch, in poker as well as football."
Suarez, however, is not new to 'biting episodes' or other controversial behavior. Back in April 2013 he received a 10-match ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during an English Premier League match, and in November 2010 he was banned for seven matches by the Dutch FA for sinking his teeth into Otman Bakkal of PSV Eindhoven.
Also, in 2011, he was sanctioned with an eight-match ban and a £40,000 fine for using racially abusive language toward Manchester United's Patrice Evra.
PokerNews reached out to 888poker about the issue but representatives preferred not to comment.
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