Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/340052
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 2 JULY 2014 Sport 23 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Partly cloudy locally partly to rather cloudy at first VISIBILITY: Good WIND: Easterly force 3 to 4 locally force 2 to 3 at first, veering East to Southeast and becoming locally force 4 to 5. SEA: Slight becoming slight to moderate locally moderate SWELL: Negligible locally low Northwest at first SEA TEMP: 24 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. PARTLY CLOUDY 30 º C / 21 º C UV INDEX: 10 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits OPINION Across 3. Pet birds (8) 9. Pilsner (5) 10. Choose (3) 11. Mischievous person (3) 12. Goal of a journey (11) 14. Rubbish (5) 16. Secondhand (4) 17. Leers (5) 19. Move in haste (6) 20. Be seated (3) 22. Tank ship (6) 23. South American ruminant (5) 25. Cat sound (4) 26. Sumptuous meal (5) 28. Climber of mountains (11) 30. Shelter (3) 31. Sparse fluid (3) 32. Repairs (5) 33. Tied up (8) Down 1. Trudge (4) 2. Speech (7) 4. State of USA (8) 5. Joined by treaty (6) 6. Alike in every way (9) 7. Capital of Bulgaria (5) 8. Hiding place (5) 13. Move to another country (8) 15. Clamber (8) 18. Confection (9) 21. Strangle (8) 24. Person that lounges (7) 25. Spring suddenly (6) 26. Misty (5) 27. City in central Belgium (5) 29. Corrosion (4) THE madness does not stop with Luis Suarez and fortunately for us there is no end in sight. Mistaking Chiellini for Cannelloni, the Uruguay forward appeared to bite the defender during Italy's 1-0 defeat to Uruguay in the group stage. The aftermath of the bite was not only Suarez being the butt of all jokes but a hefty four month football ban, handed down by FIFA themselves, following retrospective action after viewing replay footage. A four month football ban means that Luis Suarez cannot take part in the sport at all, is unable to turn in for training at Liverpool, or Barca if you believe the rumors, and also has a stadium ban. Victim Chiellini himself argues that the ban is excessive and harsh and many are split by the verdict. The Uruguayan FA have protested heavily against the ban, suggesting that there is a witch hunt after their prized forward. He has the backing of his home fans, and fortunately for him the fans in his home away from home Liverpool have also backed him. The club might be about to re- ceive tasty offers for him but despite this Liverpool have said they will try to keep their top scorer. As we all know this is not the first time Suarez has attracted negative attention. He is a third time offend- er in the most bizarre sporting foul (biting) and frankly FIFA struggled to make their mind up on their pun- ishment. Becoming better known for his biting over his goals is a ter- rible reputation, however a history of dives, a ban for racism and that save of the tournament against Ghana in 2010 does not help his case at all. The length of the ban means that Suarez would miss the start of the Premier League season for Liverpool, for the second consecutive season due to a ban. In addition to the ban he will also serve a nine game inter- national suspension which will carry on till after the four months. He is due to return to club action from Oc- tober 27th, leaving Liverpool short upfront once more. To many this man is one of the world's most talented players of all time and he is a hero for his club and country. Harsh as the ban may seem, FIFA have no choice. The World Cup is the global showcase of the beauti- ful game and others have called for a longer ban. I believe there is more to it than just a ban. For me it has become clear that this is a sportsman who needs pro- fessional help. He constantly strug- gles to deal with his emotions and keep them in check, and was even seen crying after scoring his brace against England. A bite can be seen as an emotional outburst, as often seen with children, who would not be doing it with any form of malicious intent. In all three instances, Suarez seems to react as if he was the player hurt. He limped claiming a foul as he bit Ivanovic and went to ground clutching his teeth (of all things) af- ter having a mouthful of the Italian. Psychologists argue that if Suarez was acting completely irrationally, he would not be play acting directly af- ter it as it shows calculated thought, and knowledge of negative commit- ment. Had Suarez acted irrationally, he would not have had the cognitive ability to decide to play act after- wards. As he faked injury directly after biting it is clear to some that he knew exactly what he was doing and had intended to hurt his opponent to gain the advantage. Luis Suarez has consistently shown symptoms of being a match win- ner. He is that little kid on the park who just wants to win every single game, however he seems to know few boundaries. He would cheat to win a game, as he proved by saving a ball off the line against Ghana in the 2010 World Cup. Young boys show similar behaviour, until they learn how to win fairly and to me he has missed out on that psychological develop- ment. I believe that bans do not work for this sort of player. He is a third time offender and has never learnt his les- son. Sadly for him unless he seeks professional help he will not learn and might even repeat his actions. By initially admitting, despite the several replays and bite marks, that he did not bite Chiellini he showed us that, like a young boy, he has not taken responsibility for his actions. I have often said that a player like this can end up ruining the brand of a football club and Liverpool need to sell their main man and with Barce- lona circling it might be a good time for Liverpool to name their price. Mark Strijbosch Taking a bite at Suarez Suarez holds his teeth moments after the biting incident Qf5+ Kg7 Qf7+ Kh8 Bf6+ Ng7 Rh1# (Qxg7#)