10-game ban could follow after Liverpool defender involved in biting incident

Empire of the Kop

·23 septembre 2024

10-game ban could follow after Liverpool defender involved in biting incident

You could forgive football fans for wondering if they’d been transported over 11 years into the past after Liverpool loanee Owen Beck was on the receiving end of a bite yesterday.

The Reds youngster, currently on loan with Blackburn Rovers, was incredibly sent off for his reaction to being bitten by Preston North End forward Milutin Osmajic during the goalless Lancashire derby.

Vidéos OneFootball

“Owen’s got a big bite mark on the back of his neck and it’s a shame the referee didn’t see that,” Rovers boss John Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire (via BBC Sport).

The Montenegrin star’s actions will have no doubt conjured up memories of ex-Merseysider Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan strike, who came close to securing the 2013/14 Premier League title with Brendan Rodgers’ men, courted controversy with his bite on Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in April 2013.

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It’s likely footage of the incident involving Beck will be reviewed by the FA as part of their investigation to determine any potential retrospective action.

Osmajic bite on Beck could follow Luis Suarez precedent

Luis Suarez and Branislav Ivanovic several months after the incident – (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

In what was perceived to be a shocking punishment at the time by then Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre (BBC Sport), the FA could follow a precedent already set.

Suarez (37) was handed a 10-game by the Football Association after biting Ivanovic, and we’d infer from this that a similar punishment could yet be dished out to Osmajic.

Surely, then, such a review would exonerate Beck and at least see his three-game ban reduced in light of fresh evidence.

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