OneFootball
Dan Burke·24 October 2018
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Dan Burke·24 October 2018
On Sunday, an SV Preussen Eiberg player was sent off during a Kreisliga B clash with ESG 99/06 II for allegedly biting off part of the nose of a player on the opposing team.
Neither the perpetrator nor the victim can be named because of German privacy laws but under regional association rules, the Eiberg player could face a ban of between six weeks and eight years for the offence.
Remarkably, Eiberg have decided not to expel the player from the club, and his coach has pleaded with the court to be lenient with his sentence.
“You must differentiate between a human being and a player,” said coach Thomas Cichon, who once played in the Bundesliga for FC Köln.
“Everybody must get a second chance.”
During the 2014 World Cup, Luis Suárez was caught on camera biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder – an offence which landed the Uruguay striker with a nine-match ban and a four month prohibition from any football related activity.
“Luis Suárez still plays for the national team, for his club,” Cichon added.
“Sure, we are on a different level here, but we must not make things bigger than they are.”
Essen police confirmed to ESPN that they were called to Eiberg’s stadium on Sunday and a man has been charged with actual bodily harm.
The victim underwent surgery at a local hospital and is understood to be making progress.