Luis Suarez took a bite out of opponent Giorgio Chiellini during Uruguay’s match against Italy on Tuesday, but at least one lucky fans is making a nice return on the incident.
A Norwegian man took a bet on 175-to-1 odds that Suarez would bite someone during the match. Somehow, Thomas Syversen decided to lat down some money on the strange prop bet, winning about 5,600 Norwegian Krone (which equals out to about $916 in U.S. dollars).
Afterward, Syversen said the Luis Suarez bet was the highlight of his betting career.
“This is probably the sickest game I’ve handed in, not to mention the sickest game I’ve won,” Syversen said in a quote translated from Afterposten, Norway’s largest newspaper.
The bet may not have been all the crazy. Suarez has two previous suspensions for biting opponents, though he got away with it in Tuesday’s match after Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez missed the call and then ignored Chiellini lifting up his shirt to show bite marks on his shoulder.
But Suarez likely isn’t getting off scot free. The star still faces possible punishment from FIFA, which could mean a big suspension. Players have been suspended for multiple games in similar situations.
The missed call went on to hurt Italy, with Uruguay scoring shortly afterward to take the lead.
Afterward, Luis Suarez seemed to strike an apathetic tone.
“These are just things that happen out on the pitch,” Suarez said. “It was just the two of us inside the area and he bumped into me with his shoulder, and that’s how my eye got like this as well. There are things that happen on the pitch and you should not make such a big deal out of them.”
Many called out Suarez, with Chiellini saying the bite was “disgraceful.”
“Suarez gets away with whatever he wants because FIFA want the top players involved,” he said on Sky Sport Italia .”He bit me, and the sign is there. Now [FIFA] have got to have the courage to take action.”
But at least one person isn’t too upset about the Luis Suarez bite — Thomas Syversen and his $916.