Top 5 ‘Biting Champions’ from Mike Tyson to Luis Suarez

While Uruguayan Luis Suarez is known for his prowess in scoring hat tricks for Liverpool, he is now probably more famous for his appetite on the field.

Last night during the World Cup Uruguay-Italy game, Suarez became a three-time biting offender after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Also read: FIFA charges Luis Suarez for biting in World Cup

The bite, which happened minutes before the end of the game, generated an uproar online and provided both the media and social media users the opportunity to use their Photoshop skills and imagination to come up with some creative memes.

Moments after the incident, #cannibal began trending on Twitter, filling feeds with memes of dog cones and mouth guards.

One twitter user wrote: “Hey @Snickers! Looks like you've got your new spokesman! #Suarez "You're not you when you're hungry! #WorldCup2014,” while another user sarcastically said: “To be fair to Luis Suarez, I can’t resist an Italian sub either.”

Explaining the strange behavior of Suarez, Hany Hathout, a presenter in Egypt's Youth and Sports Radio said that the star striker tried to divert his opponent’s attention from the game to allow his team to score.

Uruguay scored its victory goal minutes after the incident, while Italian players were still complaining about it, Hathout added.

Suarez, England's Footballer of the Year, was widely criticized by the British media, Hathout said, adding that he was the reason for England's elemination from the World Cup last week after scoring twice against them.

Old habits

It seems that old habits die hard as it is the third time Suarez bits a player on the pitch.

Earlier in his career, the 27-year-old start striker was suspended in the Netherlands and England for biting opponents.

"Suarez, who failed to respect the fair play rules again, needs to take anger management classes as his biting problem seems to be recurrent," the sports presenter said.

The first incident happened in Holland in 2010 when Suarez played for Ajax Amsterdam, while the other one took place in April 2013 when the Liverpool striker bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovi.

The Anfield forward received a total of 17-match ban following the incidents. Suarez might face another ban as FIFA started investigating the incident.

If the panel finds Suarez guilty of assaulting an opponent, FIFA rules call for a ban of at least two matches up to a maximum of 24 months.

The football organization is likely to be less understanding with Suarez this time as it is not the first incident of this type, Hathout said.

Sports similarities

It is not the first time that a sports player calls upon an act of cannibalism during a tournament.

In 1997, during the heavyweight fight in Las Vegas, Mike Tyson bit off a piece of his opponent’s right ear. The American boxer was disqualified.

Basketball player, Wayne Monte "Tree" Rollins was also part of a similar incident after biting the finger of one of his opponents in in 1983 during a fight in a Celtics-Hawks playoff game.

More recently, French-Canadian ice hockey player, Alex Burrows, was at the center of a similar scandal after he bite the finger of another player.

In 2009, another ice hockey player, Jarrko Ruutu, responded to having his opponent glove in the face by biting his thumb.