Uruguay Football Association to appeal Luis Suarez's nine-match FIFA ban

The Uruguayan Football Association has confirmed that it will lodge an appeal against Luis Suarez's nine-match international ban.

The Liverpool striker was suspended by FIFA after he was found guilty of biting the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay's 1-0 win at the World Cup in Brazil on Tuesday.

Suarez, who has been fined around £66,000, has also been hit with a four-month ban from all football activity, but is permitted to complete a transfer away from Liverpool should that be a possibility this summer.

The Uruguayan FA had 21 days to respond to the decision, but the governing body's president Wilmar Valdez has revealed a matter of hours after the sanction was imposed that they will lodge an appeal.

Suarez has been punished twice before in his career for similar biting incidents.