RIO DE JANEIRO — FIFA has officially charged Uruguay's Luis Suarez with biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in the teams' World Cup match, a process that could lead to a suspension for Uruguay's best offensive player.
FIFA announced early Wednesday that its disciplinary committee has opened proceedings against Suarez, just hours after the end of Tuesday's match.
Disciplinary proceedings opened against Uruguay's Luis Suarez http://t.co/w6mRNuSGZt— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) June 25, 2014
If the panel finds Suarez guilty of assaulting an opponent, FIFA rules call for a ban of at least two matches up to a maximum of 24 months.
Fifa spokeswoman points to article 118 of Fifa's rulebook - seems to suggest if a ban is less than two months there is no right of appeal.— Owen Gibson (@owen_g) June 25, 2014
FIFA asked the team to present evidence, which can include video recordings, by 5 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) Wednesday.
A decision must be published before Saturday, when Uruguay plays Colombia in a round-of-16 match at Maracana stadium.
FIFA can't say if Suarez will be sanctioned before Uruguay's next game against Colombia on Saturday— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) June 25, 2014
Uruguay advanced by beating Italy 1-0 on Tuesday in Natal. One minute before the decisive goal, Suarez clashed with Chiellini and was caught by television cameras apparently biting his shoulder.
Match referee Marco Rodriguez of Mexico appeared not to see the incident and took no action.
Brazil's World Cup has been a high-scoring tournament featuring late goals, comebacks, full stadiums and underdog stories, but the bite was got much of the global attention Tuesday.
Earlier in his career, the 27-year-old Suarez was suspended in the Netherlands and England for biting opponents. He didn't confirm or deny biting Chiellini, but said he was angry that the Italian defender had hit him in the eye during the game.
"These are things that happen on the pitch, we were both in the area, he thrust his shoulder into me," Suarez said in Spanish. "These things happen on the pitch, and we don't have to give them so much (importance)."
FIFA's disciplinary panel "is responsible for sanctioning serious infringements which have escaped the match officials' attention," the governing body said in a statement.
"Any type of proof may be produced," FIFA noted, including "reports from referees, declarations from the parties and witnesses, material evidence, audio or video recordings."
FIFA set a World Cup precedent for using video review in 1994. Then, in a quarterfinal, Italy defender Mauro Tassotti's elbow to the face of Spain's Luis Enrique escaped the referee's attention. FIFA later banned Tassotti for eight international matches.