Luis Suárez ‘bite’ leaves Swedish gamblers counting their winnings
• More than 100 gamblers paid out by bookmaker after incident
• ‘I didn’t think he would bite, but that he’d do something stupid’
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Fifa opens disciplinary proceedings after Suárez controversy
Uruguay's Luis Suárez after appearing to bite Italy's Giorgio Chiellini. Photograph: Tony Gentile/Reuters
While the Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini reacted with horror
after appearing to be bitten by the Uruguay striker Luis Suárez in their World Cup match, a handful of gamblers in Scandinavia were celebrating as their unlikely bet was paid out on.
The online bookmaker Betsafe had been offering odds of 175-1 that the Uruguayan, twice banned for biting, would sink his teeth into an opponent during the World Cup in Brazil. Sure enough, more than 100 gamblers decided that it was worth a punt.
When Suárez seemingly did just that to Chiellini near the end of their Group D clash in Natal, it was time to celebrate.
One winner, Jonathan Braeck from Stenungssund in Sweden, bet 80 Swedish krona (£7) that Suárez would bite, and the 23-year-old substitute teacher is now set for a payout of 14,000 krona (£1,225) for his wager.
Italy's Giorgio Chiellini shows his shoulder after the incident. Photograph: Tony Gentile/Reuters
“First I thought I’d bet a little more, but a friend said I was just wasting my money,” a delighted Braeck told the
SportExpressen newspaper. “When Italy took over the game you knew that he could go a little crazy,” he added. “I didn’t think that he would bite, but that he’d do something stupid. Then he did the best stupid thing that he could do.”
Uruguayan fans give their opinions on the incident.
Betsafe confirmed the wager, saying: “We can gladly confirm that our customer won 14,000 krona because Suárez remarkably bit an opponent – again,” Patrik Oqvist, Betsafe’s marketing manager told the newspaper. “We had fun setting these strange odds and it’s very nice that a customer got it right.”
Braeck said he intends to spend some of his winnings on travelling to a Premier League game in England, but he will not be visiting Liverpool to see the man who helped fund his trip. “It will be a trip to Manchester. I’m going to try to find someone to go with me to Manchester United,” he said. “If I had [Suárez’s] home address I’d send him a thank-you card. It was very nice of him to bite and give me a trip to Manchester.”