Luis Suarez banned for nine matches, will sit out rest of the World Cup

It's official: FIFA has banned Luis Suarez of Uruguay for nine international matches and for four months of any soccer-related activity for biting Giorgio Chiellini of Italy on the shoulder, guaranteeing that Suarez's World Cup is over.

"Such behavior cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup, when the eyes of millions people are on the stars on the field," FIFA said in a statement. Suarez was also fined 100,000 Swiss francs.

This means that Suarez, one of the world's top strikers, will miss Uruguay's second round match against Colombia. It also means that Suarez will miss the beginning of the 2014-15 season of the Barclays Premier League, where he plays for Liverpool.

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The punishment was widely expected, since this is not the first time that Suarez has bitten an opposing player. His attack on Chiellini, which left visible bite marks, prompted worldwide scorn, outrage, and general bewilderment.