RIO DE JANEIRO: Luis Suarez and the Uruguayan football federation have had their proests against his duel suspensions rejected by the FIFA appeals commitee writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

This will be a disappointment for the player, with his prospective tranfer from Liverpool to Barcelona in mind, and for the Uruguayans since Suarez will likely miss next year’s Copa America.

Suarez was suspended for four months and nine competitive games after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup goup stage. He served one game in Uruguay’s second round defeat and elimination by Colombia.

He and the UAF can now only take the issue to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

A FIFA statement said:

The FIFA Appeal Committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by both the Uruguayan player Luis Suárez and the Uruguayan FA, and to confirm the decision rendered by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on 25 June 2014 in its entirety.

The terms of the decision taken by the FIFA Appeal Committee were communicated to the player and the Uruguayan FA today.

The relevant decision is not yet final and binding, i.e. an appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) is still possible (cf. art. 67 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes) by the player and/or the Uruguayan FA, subject to certain conditions.

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