Montevideo - Uruguay will appeal against a record nine-match ban imposed by Fifa on striker Luis Suarez for biting an Italy defender in a World Cup group match, local media reported on Thursday.
“The punishment is too strong for the foul,” FA president Wilmer Valdez told local television, which reported that the appeal will be filed later on Thursday.
“Uruguay does not feel persecuted and Suarez is not a victim,” Valdez added.
However, Uruguayans are incensed by the ban, with many slamming it as exaggerated, hypocritical, or even biased.
Suarez will miss Uruguay's last-16 match against Colombia in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday and will play no further part in the tournament in Brazil if they progress.
FA vice-president Jorge Barrera was earlier reported by local media as saying Uruguay would appeal.
Suarez was also suspended from any football-related activity for four months and fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($111,000), soccer's world governing body said in a statement on Thursday. – Reuters