'FIFA treat Luis Suarez like a murderer'

ByMike Whalley ESPN logo
Thursday, July 24, 2014

Iago Aspas has told Spanish radio that his former Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez has been "treated like a murderer" by FIFA.



Uruguay international Suarez is serving a four-month worldwide suspension from football-related activity after biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup match in the Brazilian city of Natal on June 24.



The ban -- which also precludes him from his national team's next nine matches -- does not apply to transfers, meaning that the 27-year-old was able to complete a 75 million pound move to Barcelona last week.



But Suarez cannot play for Barcelona, train with his teammates or even attend their matches until late October. He was also barred from attending the news conference held by Barca to announce his arrival.



Aspas, who completed a season-long loan move from Liverpool to Sevilla on Monday, believes that the Uruguayan has been treated harshly.



"They are treating Luis like a murderer and not like a footballer," he told Cadena COPE. 



"There are murderers who pay less for what they have done. To not let him be presented by Barcelona, to train or to enter the stadium is too much."



Aspas, 26, struggled to make an impact on Merseyside following his 7.7 million pound move from Celta Vigo in 2013.



He made just five Premier League starts last season, with his only goal for the club coming in a 2-0 FA Cup third-round win over Oldham on Jan. 4.



He added: "Liverpool had a great season and I learned a lot from my teammates."



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