Uruguay Coach Oscar Washington Tabarez refused to answer questions on Luis Suarez at his pre-match Press conference.
The Celestes take on Colombia in the Last 16 this evening, but will do so without their star striker after he was found guilty of biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.
As such, the tactician did not answer any questions in Rio, and instead read out a pre-written statement, calling Suarez a ‘scapegoat’.
“This is an excessively severe decision and caused by the media attack that started right after the game with Italy,” said Tabarez.
“The journalists only speak about this issue. I don’t know what country they were from, but they all spoke English…
“With this ban, who wins? Who loses? Who benefits? Will it avoid incidents like this from happening again? I doubt it very much, because they’ve happened before.
“In this tournament we saw similar incidents to those of Suarez and Chiellini, but they were punished differently. We expected a ban, but not this severe and were also surprised Chiellini wasn't punished too.
“We all know where power lies. The power is in the hands of the organisers. But I will not discuss that. That doesn't mean we should accept it and agree with the discriminatory nature of that power.
“I have been a teacher in my life and I present the theory of the scapegoat: you know about the psychology of it all.
“When giving a punishment to someone who commits a transgression – not a crime – so that the whole group will know what is good, what is bad, what is wrong, what is correct, what ought to be done, and what shouldn't.
“We agree with the principle, but there is a danger proceeding this way. We forget the scapegoat is a person who has rights.
“In this specific case, of Luis Suarez, besides the mistakes he might have committed, he's made significant contributions to football on the pitch, the essence of World Cups. They depend upon the contributions by such great players.
“In conclusion, our vision is obviously very subjective, but we know the protagonist of this incident well, not just through the profile that is painted of him, and the decision is excessively severe.”
