The Liverpool defender insists he did not mean to hurt the Ecuador midfielder during France’s final group game and says he will accept any punishment given by FIFA

France centre-back Mamadou Sakho has defended his elbow to the face of Ecuador’s Oswaldo Minda during Les Bleus’ final World Cup Group E match in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday.

The incident occurred during the seventh minute of the clash during a set-piece, with the South American fortunately escaping without an injury.

Referee Noumandiez Doue failed to send the 24-year-old off, a decision which Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rueda labelled as “regrettable” following the match.

Sakho has now revealed that he did not mean to hurt Minda and will accept any punishment that FIFA chooses to give for the incident.

“By jumping, it makes me nudge him. Perhaps it can be dangerous, it could open up the game,” he was quoted as saying in L’Equipe.

“The referee made his decision, I respect it.

“If they [FIFA] think I deserve [punishment], they will make their decision. I always play to respect the opposition. And I would like my opponents to respect me.

“It [the elbow] was to protect me then. I’m not there to do bad [things] or to hurt people.

“I rarely got yellow cards or red cards. I have a hard game, but, not a bad game.”

France will face Nigeria in the last 16 in Brasilia on June 30 after Didier Deschamps’ men finished as winners of Group E.

The former Russia midfielder says Fifa will have to give the star a hefty punishment but insists they should allow the forward to finish playing the tournament in Brazil first

Ex-Russia midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov has called on “wild” Luis Suarez to be given a ban if he is found guilty of biting – but only after the World Cup finishes.

The Liverpool star made headlines this week when he appeared to bite the shoulder of Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s 1-0 win over the Azzurri – an incident that the 27-year-old was not sent off for.

Suarez has bitten an opponent on two separate occasions previously – he was punished for sinking his teeth into PSV Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal in 2010 before being banned for biting the arm of Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in 2013.

Fifa have now confirmed that they have opened disciplinary proceedings into this week’s incident, and if found guilty of the offence again, Suarez could be suspended for between three and 24 international matches or be given up to a two-year club and/or country ban. 

And Zyryanov admitted that while Suarez should be banned, Fifa should only take the necessary action after the end of the World Cup in Brazil.

“I would allow him to play the rest of the World Cup. But then he must be punished,” he told Sport-Express.

“He already has previous incidents like this, with Branislav Ivanovic who he bit and [then] got a ban for 10 matches [as a result].

“They say off the pitch Suarez is fine, but in the heat of the match his emotions go wild.

“God has shown me mercy [for never being bitten]. I’ve been pushed, beaten off my feet, but biting? Thank God, that has not yet come into anyone’s mind.”

Fifa began proceedings into the incident on Wednesday and are likely to conclude discussions by the end of Thursday.

“We have to resolve it either today or tomorrow,” Martin Hong, a member of Fifa’s disciplinary panel, told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s our duty to see justice done.”

Should Suarez decide to appeal any ban given by the governing body, Fifa may have to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reach a binding verdict before Uruguay’s next World Cup match against Colombia on June 28.

But if Fifa were to ban the forward for fewer than three matches or only up to two months, Suarez would not be able to appeal as per the organisation’s rules.

The Uruguay forward’s former team-mate has been left baffled by his latest biting incident and believes he will never get over his “self-destructive” streak

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher says Luis Suarez’s “self-destructive” tendencies are unlikely to be tamed.

The Reds star drew controversy again on Tuesday when he appeared to bite Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini while on Uruguay duty at the World Cup, the third such incident of his career, and his old team-mate doubts that his “disgraceful” actions will end there.

“Rather than being regarded as one of the finest forwards in the game, he’s now simply known as the one who bites people,” Carragher told the Daily Mail.

“I find the incident completely bizarre. I worked with Luis every day for two-and-a-half years at Liverpool and, if you spent time in his company, you would struggle to believe he was capable of such ridiculous moments.

“He is a special footballer because he scores incredible goals, [because of] his skill, tremendous physical capabilities and enthusiasm. He pushes himself to the limit but that doesn’t mean we should have to accept moments of madness.

“Luis will be distraught. When he bit Branislav Ivanovic, in the days and weeks that followed you could see how much of an impact it had made on him. He was devastated.

“Do not think, however, I am looking to defend him. I didn’t when he tangled with Ivanovic and I’m not changing my view. Luis’s actions have been disgraceful and it defies belief that he could behave as if he was in a playground once again after everything Liverpool have done for him.

“He has lost focus and, if I’m honest, I don’t believe he will change. He will always have that tendency to self-destruct. This latest incident mirrored the ones with Ivanovic and Otman Bakkal — it was a split-second reaction, instinctive. Could there be an element [that] he felt he would get away with it?”

Carragher is not in favour of a ban that would affect his club form after the incident took place on international duty but believes Liverpool are now likely to sell if any of the forward’s high-profile suitors were to make a move.

“I believe the biggest way to hurt him would have been for Fifa to suspend him for the rest of the World Cup and then ban him for a calendar year, which would rule him out of Uruguay’s Copa America defence next summer,” he opined.

“People are calling for a worldwide ban but I don’t think Liverpool should be punished. Uruguay didn’t suffer when he served the Ivanovic ban, did they?

“With Liverpool, his situation is even more complicated. Those who are saying the club should make a stand and drum him out have no grasp on reality because no business would get shot of an £80 million asset for nothing or a reduced fee.

“But there comes a point when enough is enough. You have to wonder whether Barcelona and Real Madrid have been put off by what they saw in Natal, but there is no doubt his future will become a massive issue.

“Now you get the feeling that Liverpool might actually be relieved if Barcelona or Madrid come in with a bid that triggers a move. If a lucrative offer arrives in the next few weeks, I am convinced Suarez will be playing his football somewhere else next season.

“He has been a magnificent player and that is why Liverpool supporters have staunchly stood by him but even they believe now that this latest controversy is something the club can do without.”