Luis Suarez's legal team are confident that the Barcelona striker will have his four-month ban for biting halved.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) will hear the former Liverpool player's appeal on Friday.

Suarez, 27, would be available to play from August 25 if the ban is halved.

Football's world governing body Fifa imposed a four-month ban "from all football-related activity" on the Uruguayan after he bit Italy's Giorgio Chiellini in a World Cup group game.

But Suarez's legal team are expected to argue that the ban should be limited to international football, from which the striker received a nine-match suspension.

They also hope to persuade Cas to let Suarez train with Barcelona while he serves his ban.

Suarez's lawyer Alejandro Balbi told Uruguayan media that the four-month suspension would be "easier to contend against" because it breaches the player's "fundamental rights".

Cas had said that a final decision is likely to be made "some days after the conclusion of the hearing", but there is a chance it could be made as early as Friday once the appeal is over.
(BBC)