5 sports stars who bit off more than they could chew

Heavyweight boxer Kash Ali is facing a lengthy ban from the sport after being disqualified for biting David Price during their non-title fight in Liverpool on Saturday night.

Ali has already had his £20,000 purse withheld by the British Boxing Board of Control and has been suspended pending an imminent hearing by its Central Area Council.

But Ali is far from the first sportsman to go hungry in pursuit of his duty. Here Press Association Sport takes a look at five more examples of athletes with insatiable appetites.

In the most famous biting incident in sporting history, Mike Tyson tore chunks out of both of Evander Holyfield’s ears during their 1997 world heavyweight title rematch in Las Vegas, earning a disqualification at the end of the third round. He was fined USD3million and served an 18-month ban from the sport.

The Uruguay star was sent home from the 2014 World Cup after biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during their group game. But Suarez had previous: he had already been issued with biting bans for incidents involving Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and Otman Bakkal of PSV.

Dylan Hartley was handed an eight-week suspension for biting Ireland flanker Stephen Ferris on the finger during a Six Nations match in 2010. The incident was not seen by the referee at the time but Hartley was subsequently cited. Hartley pleaded not guilty and described his “disappointment” at the verdict.

The South African forward’s international career was effectively ended after he bit the ear of All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick during a Test match in 1994. Le Roux received a 19-month ban and did not appear to regret the incident, retorting: “For a 19-month ban, I should have torn it right off.”

In the most bizarre biting incident in sporting history, Sevilla midfielder Francisco Gallardo sunk his teeth into team-mate Jose Antonio Reyes’ genitals during a goal celebration against Real Valladolid. Gallardo was fined and suspended by his club for “violating sporting dignity and decorum”.