Uruguayan media expressed shock yesterday at the nine-match ban that Fifa handed striker Luis Suarez for biting a rival.

The outcome was seen as the result of a “witch hunt” and a “vendetta” by the world’s more powerful nations.

In a report on the Fifa ruling, the online edition of Uruguayan daily El Pais called Suarez’s ban “a cold shower”.

Ahead of the decision, however, the daily had blamed international media for staging a "witch hunt" in which Suarez was “the villain in the film, guilty long before he was tried”.

Uruguayan sports TV network Tenfield went even further as it slammed the ban.

“Fifa gave way to the pressure of the English and of Uruguay’s rivals: they went full-out to punish Luis Suarez,” Tenfield wrote on its website.

“The Celeste hit hard in Brazil, they eliminated England and English media expressed their vengeance by putting pressure on Fifa,” the TV station said.

Uruguay’s Sports Minister Liliam Kechichian called the ban excessive, and expressed concern for Suarez’s own condition.

“The disproportionate punishment hurts. Now we’ll have to see how we help the human being, and how this group brings out the best... of their love for the light blue shirt,” Kechichian posted on Twitter.

- dpa