Karma bites back at Suarez
Uruguayan striker, a practitioner of the dark arts, learns what it's like to be on the receiving end
Luis Suarez should know by now that what goes around comes around.
A career built largely on the dark arts has seen the Barcelona striker attempt to win by any means necessary. Diving, biting, finger-wagging; you name it, he's done it several times over.
But even a player that remains hellbent on success at all costs is not immune from karma.
Uruguay's Copa America quarter-final exit at the hands of Peru yesterday morning (Singapore time) became yet another example of Suarez's past indiscretions returning to haunt him.
Nine years since his notorious handball cost Ghana a fairy-tale semi-final place in the first World Cup on African soil, the 32-year-old found himself on the receiving end.
At South Africa 2010, he not only denied Dominic Adiyiah's goal-bound effort with flailing arms, but also celebrated Asamoah Gyan's miss in the subsequent penalty shoot-out with a lack of grace that many have come to expect from the controversial marksman.
Suarez often embraces his role as the pantomime villain, but may feel a rare spot of empathy for Adiyiah after becoming the fall guy for his country's latest international shortcoming.
Like the erstwhile AC Milan striker, he was denied what appeared a likely winning goal during normal time and missed the penalty which resulted in Uruguay crashing out in Salvador.
His tears as Peru progressed were all too familiar. Liverpool fans will recall a similarly distraught scene when the English Premier League had eluded them in the 2013/14 season as Brendan Rodgers' side threw away a three-goal lead to draw with Crystal Palace.
However, the Anfield faithful will feel even less compelled to offer solace to their former talisman, just weeks since he had trampled over any previous goodwill by celebrating scoring against them in a Champions League semi-final, first-leg tie with Barcelona at the end of April.
Revenge became a dish best served cold for the Reds as they dumped the Catalans out, against the odds, and went on to win Europe's premier club competition for a sixth time.
Barca's exit at his old stomping ground was supposedly one of the lowest points of Suarez's career. Only sinking his teeth into Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup – the third opponent he had bitten in four years – came close to a darker place for him.
He may need to dig a little deeper into the earth's core to avoid this latest humiliation after preparing like never before to lead his homeland to Copa America glory this summer.
Days after the Anfield defeat, he underwent surgery on a knee problem and embarked on an extreme weight-loss programme in order to be fit for Uruguay's Group C opener. His cutting edge was slightly lacking but there was no mistaking his trademark Machiavellian streak.
The diabolical is the default trait of Suarez's on-field psyche. He instinctively appealed for a penalty against Chile goalkeeper Gabriel Arias for saving his near-post effort in their hard-fought group finale in Rio de Janeiro before the moment of realisation belatedly kicked in.
Similarly, when Gonzalo Jara tripped a pitch invader, he demanded that Jara be booked. Vengeance rather than logic ran through his reasoning after the defender led to Edinson Cavani's sending-off when the sides had met in 2015.
Unfortunately for Suarez, referees have become increasingly wise to his histrionics. Nine years
on from infamy in South Africa, he is finally learning how it feels to be wronged.
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