Suarez misses out on Ballon d'Or shortlist
He might have lit up the English Premier League with Liverpool to stake his claim as one of the world's best players, but it looks like Luis Suarez's biting habit has come back to haunt him again.
The nippy Uruguayan striker, now with Barcelona, was a notable omission from Fifa's 23-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or.
Despite ending last season as Europe's joint-top scorer with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo with 31 goals apiece, Suarez's season ended in disgrace after he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup and was banned from football for four months.
The incident seems to have cost the controversial forward a spot to vie for football's top individual prize as Ronaldo looks set to vie with his old foe Lionel Messi to retain his last year's award.
The EPL is represented by five players, although only Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester City's Yaya Toure were based in England last season.
They are joined by Hazard's Blues' team-mates Thibaut Courtois and Diego Costa along with Manchester United's ex-Real Madrid man Angel di Maria.
World Cup winners Germany have more players on the list than any other nation with six.
The 23 names will be reduced to a top three on Dec 1 before the winner is revealed in Zurich on Jan 12.
In the coach of the year category, United's Louis van Gaal, Chelsea's Jose Mourinho and Man City's Manuel Pellegrini are the EPL's representatives on a 10-man shortlist.
Ballon d'Or shortlist: Gareth Bale (Wales), Karim Benzema (France), Diego Costa (Spain), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Mario Goetze (Germany), Eden Hazard (Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Toni Kroos (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Javier Mascherano (Argentina), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Thomas Mueller (Germany), Manuel Neuer (Germany), Neymar (Brazil), Paul Pogba (France), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Arjen Robben (Holland), James Rodriguez (Colombia), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast).
Coach of the year shortlist: Carlo Ancelotti (Italy/Real Madrid), Antonio Conte (Italy/Juventus/Italy national team), Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Juergen Klinsmann (Germany/ USA national team), Joachim Loew (Germany/Germany national team), Jose Mourinho (Portugal/Chelsea), Manuel Pellegrini (Chile/Manchester City), Alejandro Sabella (Argentina/Argentina national team), Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atletico Madrid), Louis van Gaal (Holland/Holland national team/Manchester United).
Source: PA Sport
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