PETALING JAYA: Luis Suarez is hogging the headlines for the wrong reasons...Again!
This time the mercurial Uruguay and Liverpool striker was accused of biting Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder during his team's World Cup victory over Italy.
On Wednesday, FIFA said that it has begun proceedings over that incident.
According to psychiatrist Dr Andrew Mohanraj, Suarez could be suffering from Intermittent Explosive Disorder which is an impulse control disorder.
He said he watched the videos of all the controversial incidents involving Suarez but could not make out if there was "tangible provocations" against him.
“Intermittent explosive disorder is provoked by arousal of fear or anger and is responded by impulsive destruction of property or aggression which is accompanied by body gestures and verbal outbursts.
“In Suarez's case, he resorted to biting as the impulsive primitive response due to the close proximity in such a contact sport,” said Dr Mohanraj.
He said some people bite "as part of an anxious personality or obsessive compulsive disorder - like biting their own nails, biting off parts of their flesh and eating it especially around their fingernails but rarely bite others."
“He is unlikely to suffer from biting disorder but probably has Intermittent Explosive Disorder. He definitely needs to be treated for anger management,” said Dr Mohanraj, who is deputy president of the Malaysian Mental Health Association.
Suarez has been caught twice before for biting his opponents.
He was banned for seven matches in 2010 while playing for Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie after replays showed him biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal in a league match.
Last year, he was at it again when he bit Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic arm and was given a 10-match ban.
Another psychiatrist, Dr Abdul Kadir Abu Bakar, does not think Suarez has a psychiatric problem but "he is just not able to control his impulse."
“For what he did, he should be treated like a criminal. Charge him heavily, not just give him match bans.
"Eric Cantona was given a huge ban for kicking a fan during a match. He attended community service and he came back a changed person.
“Suarez has to learn how to cope with provocations and the physicality of the game. What he did against Chiellini showed that he has no value for other human life. That bite was dangerous!” said Dr Abdul Kadir.
National centre-back Amirizdwan Taj Tajuddin, who watched the Uruguay-Italy game, said:
"He shouldn’t have done that. Provocations do happen but what Suarez did was just wrong. Not once, but he has done it three times throughout his career.
"Rather than banning him for seven or 10 matches, FIFA should ban him for like two years if found guilty.
"This will surely be a lesson for him and all the players,” said the man who fondly known as Taj among his teammates.