Popular Uruguayan footballer-Luiz Suarez, who is making his move from Liverpool to Barcelona this season, may not get a formal unveiling from his La Liga team, owing to a 4 months ban that he faces for his infamous 'biting incident'.
The Uruguayan striker, who suffered much flak for his behavior towards Italy's Giorgio Chiellini, where he bit the Juventus defender's shoulder during their Group D match at the FIFA World Cup 2014, was given a lengthy ban by the FIFA governing body and is not allowed to take part in any form of footballing activity.
According to BBC Sport, Barcelona are leaning towards not giving Suarez an official unveiling ceremony or even a press conference, as it could mean violating the terms of his ban.
Real Madrid and Barcelona generally unveil their big-money signings in a grand manner with the likes of Neymar, who they signed in June last year, Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cesc Fabregas and striker David Villa, to just name a few, all receiving quite a bit of time in front of the cameras.
These events are quite popular with the football loving masses in Spain and gather strong crowds, whose numbers easily run into the hundreds of thousands, all thronging to grab a glimpse of their favorite players.
While FIFA insisted Suarez will not be allowed to take part in any form of training with his new club, the governing body did confirm the confines of the ban do not include transfers, which opened up the high-profile move from Liverpool to Barcelona.
It will be a bit of a pity for both the parties if Suarez is not given a formal welcoming ceremony, seeing as the striker cost Barcelona a reported £75 million.
The Uruguayan, who will not be allowed to play at Camp Nou until November, is now required to lie low, after his appeal for a reprieve from the suspension was rejected by FIFA on Thursday.
"The FIFA appeal committee has decided to reject the appeals lodged by both the Uruguayan player Luis Suárez and the Uruguayan FA, and to confirm the decision rendered by the Fifa disciplinary committee on 25 June 2014 in its entirety," FIFA's media head Delia Fisher said on Thursday.
"The terms of the decision taken by the FIFA appeal committee were communicated to the player and the Uruguayan FA today.
"The relevant decision is not yet final and binding, as an appeal to the court of arbitration for sport is still possible by the player and/or the Uruguayan FA, subject to certain conditions."
