Dein erstes Forum » Suarezs teammate Diego Lugano agreed.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- As the world was judging Uruguays Luis Suarez for biting a player in the World Cup, his teammates, coaches and fans in his soccer-crazy country defended the star, blaming the foreign media, his Italian opponents and uneven treatment. World Cup organizers scrambled Wednesday to quickly decide on a punishment before Uruguay plays Colombia Saturday in the round of 16. "We have to resolve it either today or tomorrow," FIFA disciplinary panel member Martin Hong told reporters Wednesday. "Its our duty to see justice done." The disciplinary committee meeting was already underway on Wednesday evening, FIFA spokeswoman Delia Fischer said. Wilmar Valdez, Uruguay football federation president, told the Associated Press shortly after midnight local time that the disciplinary hearing will continue Thursday morning. "What we know is they (the disciplinary panel) met for a long time," he said. "We dont know if thats a good or a bad situation." A day after he tangled with defender Giorgio Chiellini, Suarez was coping well, according to Valdez. "Luis is fine. Hes been through 1001 battles," he told the online site Tenfield.com on Wednesday. "We all know who Luis is and thats why we have to defend him." The bite -- just before Uruguay scored the clinching goal to eliminate the four-time champion Italians --will now test FIFA president Sepp Blatters often-stated commitment to "fair play, discipline, respect." Blatter, who was in the crowd for the Uruguay-Italy match at Natal, has pledged a zero tolerance for the darker side of the game. Many are questioning where that leaves a player like Suarez, who has a history of disciplinary problems including separate bans of seven and 10 matches for biting opponents in the Netherlands and England. Valdez said Uruguay officials were sent a video of the incident by FIFA, and would respond with footage showing Suarez -- a striker for Liverpool and last seasons player of the year in Englands Premier League -- as a victim of Italian aggression. "When he falls, several substitutes insult him on the ground and some members of Italys staff even came out of the bench to try to hit him," Valdez said, suggesting FIFA could investigate Italy. Uruguay also will cite Brazil star Neymar getting only a yellow card in a clash with a Croatia player, Valdez said. Uruguay federation board member Alejandro Balbi, who is Suarezs lawyer, blamed European media reporting. "This happened because there have been campaigns launched by the media in England and Italy," Balbi told Uruguayan radio Sport 890. Suarezs teammate Diego Lugano agreed. "The British media has a vendetta against Suarez, and everyone knows that," he said. "Its obvious the vendetta sells newspapers in England, otherwise you wouldnt be here. Uruguay and Italy played yesterday. On Saturday Uruguay plays Colombia, I dont know why theres a British journalist asking about Suarez." Lugano said he had seen "much more violent plays" than the bite at the World Cup. "It was a normal taunt in football, and the world press ends up talking about something totally trivial," he said. FIFAs case against Suarez -- announced early Wednesday -- will be managed by a Swiss lawyer, Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee. A former international forward himself, Sulser has worked for four years at FIFA, first as head of its ethics court. Sulser can choose to judge the offence within the scale of typical red-card incidents: A three-match ban may then be appropriate, banishing Suarez at least until the World Cup final should Uruguay advance that far. The maximum penalty would be a ban of 24 international matches. FIFA can also choose to ban Suarez for up to two years. That would cover club and international games and would ruin a widely speculated transfer to Barcelona or Real Madrid. Suarez and the Uruguay football federation had until 5 p.m. local time Wednesday (4 p.m. EDT/2000 GMT) to present a documented defence. Completing the case ahead of Saturdays match could be complicated if Suarez appeals. That challenge could go direct to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland for an urgent and binding ruling. However, one option open to FIFA and Sulser to avoid that scenario is that a suspension of "fewer than three matches or of up to two months" cannot be appealed, according to FIFA rules. Already, one of Suarezs sponsors said it was "reviewing our relationship with him." "We will not tolerate unsporting behaviour," 888poker said in a Twitter message. Last month, the firm announced a global endorsement contract with Suarez, a poker enthusiast. adidas, which also has Suarez as a client and is FIFAs longest standing World Cup sponsor, said it was monitoring the case. Meanwhile, Suarez was criticized by a Uruguay football great Alcides Ghiggia, the last survivor of the team which defeated Brazil to win the 1950 World Cup. Suarez "plays well but he has done things that are not normal for a player nor for a soccer game," Ghiggia told The AP. "I think FIFA can sanction him." Stitched Football Jerseys Throwback . Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros. Sale Football Jerseys Throwback .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. http://www.cheapfootballthrowback.com/ .Y. -- Syracuses streak lives on -- barely. Custom Football Jerseys Throwback . "I met her, I think, a week ago. We went to a Norwood hockey store and picked her out some gear. Football Jerseys Throwback Outlet . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey.On a rainy May 5th, 1974, the Vancouver Whitecaps took the field for the first time and faced the San Jose Earthquakes. Almost 40 years to the day, the two teams will meet again, this time at BC Place, to celebrate the past and try to earn important points for the present. The game can be seen on TSN2, including a special Whitecaps 40th anniversary pre-match show at 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt. The Whitecaps enter the game riding the momentum of two draws earned thanks to late tying goals. In their 2-2 draw in the second of back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Kekuta Manneh equalized in the 86th minute after Robbie Keane had given the visitors the lead. Then after falling behind Real Salt Lake 2-0 last Saturday, Nicolas Mezquida and Sebastian Fernandez scored in the 86th and 94th minute, respectively, to rescue the second consecutive comeback point for the Whitecaps. After earning points in their first four games of the season, including two winss, the Whitecaps dropped two in a row before the draws.dddddddddddd They currently hold a 2-2-4 overall record. Meanwhile, the Earthquakes earned their first victory of the season, 1-0 over Chivas USA, in their last outing. The win snapped a five-game winless streak to start the season where they earned three points. They enter the game with a 1-2-3 record. Including that inaugural match between the two clubs which the Earthquakes captured 2-1, this will be the 34th all-time meeting of the two squads. San Jose holds the advantage, winning 14 times, while Vancouver has eight victories and they have drawn 11 matches. In the Major League Soccer era, the Whitecaps have only beaten the Earthquakes once from eight games, with four draws, though they have yet to lose an MLS game to San Jose at home. Prior to the game, team president Bob Lenarduzzi will be inducted into the teams new Ring of Honour and the 1974 team will be honoured. ' ' '