Diego Lugano: 'Luis Suarez innocent, Giorgio Chiellini was to blame'

Uruguay captain Diego Lugano has played down the Luis Suarez biting incident in the World Cup decider against Italy, claiming that Giorgio Chiellini, the opposition defender on the receiving end of the alleged bite, was 'disappointing as a man' for his 'attitude' in the debacle.

The 27-year-old forward appeared to bite Chiellini on the shoulder in Uruguay's 1-0 win against the Azzurri, a result that saw the 2010 semi-finalists advance to the second round of the World Cup at the expense of the 2006 winners.

However, Lugano rallied in support of his teammate, telling reporters after the game: "You need to show me [the incident] because I didn't see anything.

"Did you see it today or did you see what happened in other years? You couldn't have seen it today because nothing happened.

"The worst of everything is the attitude of Chiellini. He's a great player, with an enormous status. It doesn't correspond with Italian football. As sportsmen leaving the field, crying and appealing against a rival. As a man, he disappointed me totally."

Suarez has been found guilty of biting players prior to the Group D decider in Natal, with incidents in the Eredivisie and the Premier League.