Tonight: Thomond Park, 6pm

The crowd is silent, expectant. All eyes are on the stage, on me. I take a breath and say it:

Barcelona star Luis Suarez sent Christmas baskets to 500 children who are in hospital in his native Uruguay.

There is never a dull moment with Luis Suarez.

Giorgio Chiellini wants FIFA to reduce Luis Suarez’s four-month ban after the Liverpool striker apologised for biting him at the World Cup.

Luis Suarez has apologised to Giorgio Chiellini and vowed never to bite anyone again.

As I walked along the footpath outside Flamengo’s old ground in Rio yesterday, there was a sudden blaring of horns and sirens and I looked up to see the traffic swiftly parting to make way for a big security convoy: motorcycle outriders, a police car, a police jeep, two trucks full of soldiers, an ambulance and, slap bang in the middle, the Netherlands team coach.

Luis Suarez has apologised to Giorgio Chiellini and has vowed never to bite anyone again.

On Tuesday a fragile man broke in the industry we all support. He cracked in the pressure cooker we all built.

Soccer writer, Liam Mackey, gives his thoughtful, considered reaction to the latest Luis Suarez outrage?

Turns out he can’t get everything right.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill declared his side’s South American tour a big success despite them slipping to a second defeat as Chile proved too strong.

World Cup 2014 kicks off in nine days so Ger McCarthy looks at how some of the contenders and outsiders are shaping up ahead of their final friendlies before boarding the plane to Brazil.

Northern Ireland showed England they have little to fear from a Uruguay side lacking Luis Suarez as they battled to an honourable 1-0 defeat in Montevideo.

Newcastle defender Paul Dummett was the subject of an online death threat on Thursday after Uruguay fans blamed him for the injury that has dealt Luis Suarez a World Cup scare.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has undergone minor knee surgery and has not been ruled out of the World Cup, the Uruguay Football Association announced today.

Ireland’s women will be spared a €65,000 trip to Uruguay after they were yesterday awarded the hosting of World League 2 — the penultimate tournament on their Olympic qualification journey.

The owner of British Airways cut losses for the first three months of the year today as the group benefits from the restructuring of Spanish carrier Iberia.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez turned interviewer as he quizzed one of the city’s favourite sons, Paul McCartney.

Northern Ireland have been announced as Uruguay’s final World Cup warm-up opponents ahead of their Group D clash with England.

They nickname him ‘el pistolero’ — the gunman — in South America. But as Luis Suarez approaches his third year at Liverpool, perhaps ‘el torbellino’ — the whirlwind — is more appropriate.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez insists he has returned from suspension a calmer person and admits he does not want “to be the same as before”.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez insists he has returned from suspension a calmer person and admits he does not want “to be the same as before”.

Striker Luis Suarez did little to allay Liverpool’s fears over losing their prize asset after admitting the time may be right for “change of environment”.

THE Round Robin season is upon us.

Surviving members of an Uruguayan rugby team have played a match postponed four decades ago when their plane crashed in the Andes, stranding them for 72 days in the cordillera and forcing them to eat human flesh to stay alive.

Uruguay's national government has said it plans to send a bill to Congress that would allow it to sell marijuana, making it the first country in the world to do so.

One of the great joys of South American competition is that nobody knows anything.

The president of Uruguay, Jose Mujica, has waded into the Luis Suarez controversy and offered his full backing to the Liverpool forward for refusing to shake Patrice Evra’s hand before last week’s Premier League defeat at Manchester United.

ACCORDING to FIFA and the Ballon d’Or voters, the coach of last year was Pep Guardiola.

LIVERPOOL striker Luis Suarez will appeal his eight-game ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra, according to his lawyer.

LIVERPOOL manager Kenny Dalglish believes striker Luis Suarez will be full of confidence as he prepares to pull on the red shirt again this weekend.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has declared himself fit to face Italy in Uruguay’s friendly tomorrow but admits he already has one eye on the weekend clash with Chelsea.

Liverpool new boy Sebastian Coates has revealed that the Reds’ Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez played a pivotal role in helping him decide to move to Anfield.

Ash from a Chilean volcano fell across a wide swath of Latin America today, forcing cancellation of dozens of flights and grounding the presidents of Argentina and Uruguay.

POLICE have arrested a second Irishman being hunted over the shooting of a British expat at his home on the Costa del Sol.

A LITTLE bit of football history will be made today when Michel Platini hands over the Europa League trophy in Dublin. A first for Ireland and also a first for Portugal.

URUGUAY coach Oscar Tabarez has told his players to hold on to their World Cup dreams after seeing them book their place in the quarter-finals.

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez has vowed to stick to his principles against World Cup group rivals France.

Argentina asked for US help in resolving the brewing dispute with the UK over the Falkland Islands, where Britain has begun drilling for oil.

THE chairman of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee is to ask the Department of Defence why it has sanctioned a naval ship to undertake 12-week diplomatic trip to South America, which will cost an estimated €500,000.

EDDIE O’SULLIVAN’S USA will face Ireland in the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

The United States booked a place at Rugby World Cup 2011 with a 27-6 second-leg victory over Uruguay in Florida.

USA EAGLES head coach Eddie O’Sullivan is hoping his side are not left to rue a late Uruguay points rally in the first leg of the Rugby World Cup 2011 play-off.