El Salvador soccer players have a biting problem

Two players were suspended for biting their opponents.
 By 
Kellen Beck
 on 
El Salvador soccer players have a biting problem
United States' Jozy Altidore (27) and El Salvador's Henry Romero (4) in action during a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal soccer match Wednesday. Credit: AP/REX/Shutterstock

Soccer players often toe the line on fouling opponents to get the upper hand in a given moment, but usually that means holding someone back or grabbing their jersey, not biting them.

During a Gold Cup quarterfinals match between the U.S. national team and El Salvador Wednesday, not one but two El Salvador players were caught biting U.S. players. The tournament organizer CONCACAF suspended both players for three games, and added another three games to one of the players who also twisted the nipple of the same U.S. player he bit.

Henry Romero, the El Salvador player who received a six-game suspension, can be seen biting the back of U.S. player Jozy Altidore before a corner kick.

CARD ID: 241621

And here's Romero earlier in the game, twisting Altidore's nipple.

The El Salvador player Darwin Cerén can be seen here biting the back of U.S. player Omar Gonzalez late in the game.

Despite these ridiculous, absurd, and clearly painful tactics, El Salvador lost the game 2-0, while the U.S. team moved onto the semifinals of the North American, Central American, and Caribbean tournament.

Luckily, the U.S. players didn't seem too injured after the match, and Altidore was able to joke about the whole situation, Major League Soccer reported.

"My girl's mad at me," Altidore said after the match. "She's mad at me, she's mad at Romero, because she's like, 'Only I can bite you, only I can grab your nipples.'"

Hopefully the suspensions will deter players from biting and twisting the nipples of their opponents in the future. Hopefully.

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Kellen Beck

Kellen is a science reporter at Mashable, covering space, environmentalism, sustainability, and future tech. Previously, Kellen has covered entertainment, gaming, esports, and consumer tech at Mashable. Follow him on Twitter @Kellenbeck

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