The Liverpool striker has been suspended for nine competitive international matches and banned from all football-related activity for four months for biting Giorgio Chiellini

By Liam Twomey at Estadio Maracana

Brazil legend Ronaldo says Luis Suarez’s four-month ban for biting Giorgio Chiellini is comparable to how he used to send his young children “to the dark room with the big bad wolf” for biting him at home.

Fifa on Thursday announced that Suarez will be suspended for nine competitive international matches, banned from all football-related activity for four months and fined €82,000 for sinking his teeth into the Juventus defender’s shoulder during Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat of Italy on Tuesday.

This latest ban means Suarez will have missed a total of 36 matches over the past four years as a result of biting on the field of play, despite not receiving a single red card.

But Ronaldo feels the punishment is justified and jokingly claimed it was the equivalent of the way he used to discipline his children for the same offence at home.

“Why do you want my opinion on Suarez? I never bit anyone!” he told reporters when asked about Suarez during a media briefing at the Maracana.

“I know bites hurt. My young kids used to bite me and I’d punish them in my home. I’d send them to the dark room with the big bad wolf! I suppose not being able to play for four months is the same for an adult.”

Voicing his agreement with Fifa’s sanction, the Brazilian added: “Football has to be seen as it is. It’s educational, social. We have to use football for the good of mankind, not for evil things.”