Iniesta hoping for Suarez ban reduction

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta is hopeful new team-mate Luis Suarez’s suspension may be reduced.

Suarez, a £75m signing from Liverpool, was handed a four-month ban by FIFA for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during a World Cup match, which prevents him from making his debut for Barcelona until October 26 when the Catalans play arch rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. The 27-year-old striker saw an appeal to Fifa rejected and opted to go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a final bid to see his ban reduced.

His lawyer Alejandro Balbi branded the sanction as “blatantly draconian, totalitarian and fascist”.