Football
ESPN staff 9y

Barcelona's Luis Suarez on 'right path' after ban ends ahead of clasico debut

Luis Suarez has told The Guardian that he is on the "right path" to redemption as he prepares to make his Barcelona debut in Saturday's clash against Real Madrid -- although he cut the interview short after growing frustrated with questions over biting.

Suarez, 27, has been restricted to friendly matches for Uruguay and reserve appearances for Barca since making his 80 million-euro move from Liverpool this summer after receiving a four-month FIFA ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.

The striker's ban ends on Friday night and Camp Nou coach Luis Enrique told a pregame news conference on Friday that Suarez would make his debut at the Bernabeu -- and the Uruguayan says he has moved past his "impulse" to bite people by seeking treatment from a therapist.

"I think all the bad things I have been through are in the past," he said. "I believe I am on the right path now, dealing with the people who can help me, the right kind of people.

"Everyone has different ways of defending themselves. In my case, the pressure and tension came out in that way. There are other players who react by breaking someone's leg, or smashing someone's nose across their face.

"What happened with Chiellini is seen as worse. I understand why biting is seen so badly. It is like an impulse, like a reaction. Almost as if you realise straight away."

Suarez has been punished three times in his career for biting opponents, with FIFA's latest ban initially involving all football-related activity, though eventually being reduced on appeal.

But the forward is still unrepentant over his eight-match ban and 40,000-pound fine from the FA in 2011 after he was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

"I know I was wrong with the biting and the diving but I was accused of racism without any proof," Suarez added. "There were lots of cameras, but no evidence. It hurts me the most that it was my word against theirs."

In a sign that Suarez has had enough of explaining his actions, he cut the Guardian interview short.

Video footage on the newspaper's website shows Suarez talking to his agent, saying: "They have asked me about the bite 38,000 times, never again. This is the last one of these. I feel like taking off my microphone."

Information from the Press Association was used in this report

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