BREAKING NEWS: Luis Suarez sorry for Chiellini bite at World Cup 2014
BBC News
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has apologised to Giorgio Chiellini for the bite that earned him a nine-match and four-month ban from football.
The Uruguay forward, 27, was suspended from all football for biting Italy's Chiellini in a World Cup match.
"The truth is that my colleague Giorgio Chiellini suffered the physical result of a bite in the collision he suffered with me," said Suarez in a statement.
Suarez has previously said he lost his balance and did not bite Chiellini.
It is his third career ban for biting after incidents with Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic while at Liverpool in April 2013, and PSV's Otman Bakkal while at Ajax in 2010.
"I deeply regret what occurred," added Suarez. "I apologise to Giorgio Chiellini and the entire football family. I vow to the public that there will never again be another incident like this."
Chiellini had himself called the ban "excessive", while, in his written submission to Fifa, Suarez said: "I lost my balance, making my body unstable and falling on top of my opponent."
More to follow.