Food for thought

Like four years ago, Italy did not advance into the second stage. Italy was eliminated today after losing 0-1 against Uruguay. During the game, there was some controversy because one of Uruguay's players, Suarez, bit Italian defender Chiellini. As with Pepe before, this whole thing has been blown out of proportion.

True, Suarez likes to snack on rivals during matches. Yes, this practice is currently frowned upon. But it doesn't have to be this way. Maybe Suarez is simply ahead of his time. Why are there rules against chewing off body parts of rivals anyway? Isn't this an arbitrary limitation of feeding habits? It is possible to envision a future in which FIFA puts nutritional needs before physical integrity, and in which players are allowed to eat parts of opponents during the game. FIFA has made stranger decisions in the past.

But even under the current restrictive in-game feeding rules, it is obvious that Chiellini is to be blamed for what happened. On Chiellini's personal webpage, www.chiellini.net, he openly advertises himself as food. He promotes his freshness and deliciousness and exaggeratedly calls himself "un mondo di golosità" (a world of delicacies). He clearly lured Suarez into taking a bite.

Chiellini: fresh and delicious. Who wouldn't bite into that?

In the other group, Greece scored a last-minute goal and managed to squeeze into the second round. This shook up the Bolão a bit, but not much. Look at the standings here.