Luis Suarez admits he is getting help to stop biting opponents
Last updated on .From the section European Football
Luis Suarez says he is getting help in order to control his "impulse" to bite.
The striker, 27, who will make his Barcelona debut against Real Madrid on Saturday, was banned for four months for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup.
Admitting he had a problem, Suarez told the Guardian Weekend magazine: "It is like an impulse, like a reaction.
"I believe I am on the right path now, dealing with the people who can help me, the right kind of people."
Suarez's attack on Chiellini was the third time the Uruguayan had bitten an opponent.
| Luis Suarez controversies | |
|---|---|
| June 2014 | Banned for four months from any football-related activity, plus nine international matches, for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini |
| April 2013 | Apologises for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic and receives a 10-game ban |
| Dec 2011 | Given eight-match suspension and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra |
| Nov 2010 | Given seven-match ban for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder while playing for Ajax |
| July 2010 | Handles on the line to deny Ghana a winner in the last minute of extra-time in the World Cup quarter-finals. Asamoah Gyan misses the resulting penalty and Uruguay win the shootout to reach the semi-finals |
He had previously done the same to PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in 2010, and Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic when he was a Liverpool player in 2013.
"Everyone has different ways of defending themselves. In my case, the pressure and tension came out in that way," he added.
"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."
Suarez, however, remains unrepentant about his clash with Manchester United's Patrice Evra in October 2011, when he was found guilty of racial abuse, banned for eight matches and fined £40,000.
"I know I was wrong with the biting but I was accused of racism without any proof," Suarez said.
