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Luis Suárez begins training with Barcelona

Luis Suarez will start training with his new Barcelona team-mates on Friday after getting the green light from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Spanish giants confirmed.

Luis Suárez begins training with Barcelona
Photo: Daniel Garcia/AF^P

A statement released by the Catalan club read: "Following the announcement of the verdict by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the appeal against the sanction imposed on Luis Suarez by FIFA, FC Barcelona hereby announces that the player will join the first team's training session scheduled for Friday at 9.30 AM CET (0730 GMT) in the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper.

"Likewise, the public presentation of Suarez as a new FC Barcelona player will be held on Monday at the Camp Nou, on occasion of the Joan Gamper Trophy match."

The CAS upheld Suarez's four-month ban from playing in competitive games as well as his nine-match international suspension, but it did allow him to train and play in unofficial matches.

And that means he could make his debut against Mexican club Leon in the Gamper Trophy, the traditional curtain-raiser to the season at the Camp Nou.

There will be a temptation to give the 27-year-old a run-out against Leon as it will be Barcelona's final friendly before their first league game of the new season against Elche next weekend.

Suarez has reportedly been training on his own in an unknown location in Catalonia since completing his €95 million (£75 million, $127 million) move to the Camp Nou from Liverpool last month.

He will be available to play in competitive matches from Saturday, October 25th, meaning his official debut could come in the first Clasico of the campaign against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, which has been scheduled for that weekend.

Suarez was banned for biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup but despite the player being allowed to resume training, Uruguayan football officials are still "frustrated" with the handling of the controversy.

Uruguayan Football Federation lawyer Daniel Cravo told Sky Sports News: "We are really frustrated — we understand that the behaviour of Luis Suarez in that match deserved to be punished but we don't think that it was the worst behaviour of a player in a World Cup.

"There have been worse situations and the players were not sanctioned at this level but of course we respect CAS' decision.

"We have to wait for the reasons and we are sorry for not having achieved what our client wanted from us. I don't want to criticise the decision because I don't know the grounds, that's something we are interested in checking."

Suarez has never explained his propensity to bite opponents.   

He earned a ten-game ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic in 2013, after being sidelined for seven matches with Dutch club Ajax in 2010 for the same offence against PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal.

On Wednesday, English Premier League boss Richard Scudamore said that while Suarez was a great footballer, he was also "an accident waiting to happen".

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CORRUPTION

Barçagate: Police raid FC Barcelona offices and arrest former president

Police raided the offices of FC Barcelona on Monday, carrying out several arrests just six days ahead of the club's presidential elections, a Catalan regional police spokesman told AFP.

Barçagate: Police raid FC Barcelona offices and arrest former president
Barcelona's former president Josep Maria Bartomeu is among the arrested. Photo: Josep Lago/AFP

Spain's Cadena Ser radio said one of those arrested was former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned in October, along with CEO Oscar Grau and the club's head of legal services.

But the police refused to confirm names, saying only “arrests are taking place” and adding that the operation was being run by officers from the financial crimes unit.

“We are in the process of carrying out an operation right now with agents of the financial crimes unit,” the police spokesman told AFP.

According to reports in the Spanish media, the operation is linked to last year's investigation into the 'BarçaGate' scandal, which saw the club deny hiring a company to criticise current and former players on social media to improve the image of the then-president Bartomeu.

Cadena Ser said Barca paid €1 million in six separate invoices to the company I3 Ventures, with whom the club have since cut ties.

Bartomeu resigned in October, after mounting pressure following months of controversy and a dramatic decline in performances on the pitch.

His successor is due to be elected on Sunday, when club members will choose between the final three candidates, Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa and Victor Font.

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