Uruguayan president, José Mujica, described the harsh punishment imposed on Luis Suárez by FIFA as an "attack on all of the kids of Uruguay". He believes that the members of football's governing body "went too far" and said that their only intention was "to teach" the player "a lesson".

The head of state appeared on the 'De Zurda' television show, where he was interviewed by Diego Maradona and defended the Uruguayan striker. "I'm old. I remember when they used pins and threw dirt in your eyes during corners. And the Italians are champions at winding people up. That's why more experienced people should realise that they went too far. Either we're equals or we're inferior. We knocked out Italy and England! They must have lost loads of cash!" remarked Mujica.

The president sees the Suárez bite as a response to provocation from the Italians, who were "goading" him for the entire game until they got what they wanted, and said that FIFA should "realise that" when deciding on his punishment.

In his customary philosophical tone, he described the punishment as an "attack" on Suárez and, by extension, against the type of players "who are born from the bowels of poverty". "They have no idea of the joy they give us when they play in the dirt! They have no desire to understand these kids whose intelligence lies in their ankles, because they were born in another society and come from different means," said the president.

He went on to say that the chiefs of world football do not want to forgive Suárez because "he never went to university and grew up in the fields," meaning that he "naturally carries with him the rebelliousness and pains of those who climb up from below". "They do not understand anything. They do not forgive," he added.

Mujica, who is known internationally as the "poorest president in the world" for his austere lifestyle, pressed on with his view, stating that when one of the "world's downtrodden" like Suárez pops up his head, "he irks them, and much more so if he continues to be stubborn".