By now, you would have heard what happened during this morning’s FIFA World Cup Group D’s match between Italy and Uruguay which was essentially a very crucial match for both teams since it was their pathway to the next round of the tournament. Uruguay eventually won the match by a narrow margin of 1 – 0 but the team’s victory appears to have been eclipsed by Luis Suarez’s biting incident.
Obviously, the incident opened a floodgate of reactions from football fans throughout the world especially through social media right after it happened.
According to Mirror Online, Suarez has received millions of mentions on Twitter alone since the incident happened. As a comparison, his mention count on Twitter prior to the match was around 100,000. Although it wasn’t clear how Mirror Online managed to obtain the figures but you are able to see these mentions just by using #Suarez as the keyword to search on Twitter.
Naturally, among these tweets are comments from football stars and pundits who majority of them criticized or ridiculed what Suarez has done to the Italian defender, Giorgio Chiellini.
Tell me I’m seeing things. Surely Suarez didn’t bite someone again?
— michael owen (@themichaelowen) June 24, 2014
Surely that wasn’t a bite??? It can’t have been…could it ?? #suarez
— Michael Carrick (@carras16) June 24, 2014
After such a behavior #suarez only deserve to stay @LFC #worldcup2014 #cannibal #tysonfan #angermanagement
— Mikael Silvestre (@IamMSilvestre) June 24, 2014
Does Suarez not eat before games?
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 24, 2014
Suarez is an absolute disgrace sorry. Biting players is gross and against everything about the game. Talent for sure but no thanks. #URU
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) June 24, 2014
Still can’t believe what I’ve seen again from Suarez…needs an ENORMOUS ban from football. THIRD time now!
— bradley h friedel (@friedel_b) June 24, 2014
Not surprisingly, quite a number of big brands were on board to take advantage of the biting incident. Some examples below from McDonald’s Uruguay, Snickers, Nando’s UK, and Trident Gum:
Hola @luis16suarez, si te quedaste con hambre vení a darle un mordisco a una BigMac 😉
— McDonald’s Uruguay (@McDonalds_Uy) June 24, 2014
(which roughly translates to Hi, Luis Suarez. If you are still hungry, come take a bite out of a Big Mac.)
Hey @luis16suarez. Next time you’re hungry just grab a Snickers. #worldcup #luissuarez #EatASNICKERS pic.twitter.com/3RAO537HjW — SNICKERS® (@SNICKERS) June 24, 2014
Hey @luis16suarez, if you’re that hungry, why not get your teeth stuck into something really tasty? pic.twitter.com/TPrPoC6ljt
— Nando’s (@NandosUK) June 24, 2014
Chew Trident. Not soccer players. #ITAvsURU — Trident Gum (@tridentgum) June 24, 2014
Even local burger joint myBurgerlab was in for the fun as well on its Facebook page:
Of course, let’s not forget the memes that followed:
Suarez next season #suarez #biting pic.twitter.com/YF6CwOe8OC
— Martyn Jones (@JonesMartyn) June 24, 2014
Team Edward? Team Jacob? nah… TEAM SUAREZ. #SNPhotoGame pic.twitter.com/wuXcqJ7RC9
— SportsNation (@SportsNation) June 24, 2014
RT @redrobbery All the proof I need. pic.twitter.com/sFHkFOelY2
— Back Page Football (@bpfootball) June 24, 2014
If Suarez does play the next game for #URU, safety precautions will have to be taken. pic.twitter.com/L6xL6h38t1
— KICKTV (@KICKTV) June 24, 2014
CONGRATULATIONS: Luis Suarez retains the award for the second successive year. pic.twitter.com/5W0XuJXy9c
— BenchWarmers (@BenchWarmersCOM) June 24, 2014
Just when you thought it was safe to play Uruguay! #suarez #worldcup pic.twitter.com/gGv2boPaxV
— Unnamed Insider (@Unnamedinsider) June 24, 2014
Social and viral commentaries aside, FIFA has since officially opened a disciplinary proceedings against Luis Suarez in relation to the incident. So, let’s see how that will work out for him and the Uruguay’s World Cup campaign.
[First image: Troll Football]
