Luis Suarez dropped by 888 Poker

This morning 888poker.com have announced the termination of their sponsorship of Liverpool and Uruguay soccer star Luis Suarez, after he was found guilty of biting Italy player Giorgio Chiellini in their World Cup match.

“888poker signed Luis Suarez following a fantastic season for which his achievements were widely recognized” state 888 on their website. “Regrettably, following his actions during Uruguay’s World Cup match against Italy on Tuesday, 888poker has decided to terminate its relationship with Luis Suarez with immediate effect.”

This announcement follows FIFA’s punishment of Suarez, which states he is not allowed to participate in any soccer-related activity for the next four months – which includes even training or entering stadia. This ban will be a bitter pill to swallow for fans of Suarez, as the striker has been talismanic over the past year, almost firing Liverpool to their first League Title in over 20 years and earning the PFA Player of the Year award in the process.

The Uruguayan has a history of on-field incidents: he was banned for 7 matches for biting opponent Otman Bakkal when playing for Dutch side Ajax in 2010, and later banned for 10 matches after sinking his teeth into Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. Moreover, Suarez was fined £40,000 and banned for a further 8 matches after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.

Suarez was only introduced as a brand representative for 888poker.com last month, amid claims that he had reformed. Unfortunately for 888 it seems the gamble didn’t pay off as Suarez served only 44 days as a brand ambassador.