Uruguay captain Lugano angry at 'barbaric' Suarez ban

The Uruguay captain Diego Lugano has branded the four-month suspension handed to Luis Suarez an act of "barbarity" that breaches the Liverpool striker's human rights.

Fifa suspended Suarez from "all football-related activity" until the end of October last week after finding him guilty of biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during the South Americans' Group D victory over the Azzurri in Natal.

The forward, who is not allowed to set foot in a stadium over the course of the sanction, began the ban on Saturday as his compatriots were eliminated from the World Cup by Colombia at the Maracana.

The severity of the punishment – Suarez was also banned for nine competitive Uruguay matches and fined £66,000 – has provoked a furious reaction in Uruguay, as well as among Oscar Tabarez’s squad, with Lugano highly critical of the global game’s governing body as he took leave of the tournament.

“It’s a breach of human rights that a player cannot go into a stadium where there are 80,000 people, or into a hotel with his team-mates – that he cannot work for four months,” said the centre-half who spent last season at West Brom.

“He has committed an offence, but this ban is barbarity. Not even a criminal would receive this penalty.”

The seven-strong Fifa disciplinary panel had considered 34 camera angles before determining the striker’s guilt, concluding the bite was “deliberate, intentional and without provocation”.

Those assertions are still refuted by Suarez who claimed in a letter, written to Fifa in his defence, that he had lost his balance and “hit my face against the player, leaving a small bruise and a strong pain in my teeth”.

Uruguay have informed Fifa they will appeal the suspension, which would also rule Suarez out of nine Premier League matches and three Champions League games if he remains at Anfield despite reported interest from Barcelona, and have entered the seven-day period allocated to finalise paperwork. Guardian Service