Luis Suarez has apologised to Giorgio Chiellini and the 'football family' in a statement released via social media.
After Uruguay's World Cup exit at the weekend, and a period of reflection at home, Suarez said:
"After several days being home with my family. I have had the opportunity to regain my calm and reflect on the reality of what occurred during the Italy-Uruguay match.
"Independent from the fallout and contradicting declarations that have surfaced during these past few days, all of which have been without the intention of interfering with the good performance of my national team, the truth is my colleague Giorgio Chiellini suffered the physical result of a bite in the collision he suffered with me.
"For this I deeply regret what occurred, apologise to Giorgio Chiellini and the entire football family and I vow to the public there will never be another incident like it."
Moments later the Italian defender responded:
FIFA had mentioned that Suarez's lack of acknowledgement of the incident affected the severity of the ban.
Liverpool FC have not commented on this apology. Some rumours suggested that Barcelona wanted the player to apologise, along with him signing a 'no-bite' clause if he moves to the Nou Camp.