Uruguay striker Luis Suarez has lost one of his financial backers after he was banned for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.
Online gambling firm 888poker said it had “decided to terminate its relationship” with “immediate effect”.
The 27-year-old Liverpool player was handed a four-month ban by governing body Fifa after being found guilty of biting Chiellini in a World Cup match.
Suarez cannot play for either club or country until the end of October.
He misses the rest of the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.
Uruguay are due to play Colombia in the last 16 on Saturday after qualifying from Group D behind Costa Rica.
Suarez learned of his ban on Thursday after Fifa decided to open disciplinary proceedings against the player.
He was judged to have bitten Chiellini on the left shoulder towards the end of Tuesday’s group game, which Uruguay won 1-0 to qualify for the next stage.
Suarez denied the allegations, claiming Chiellini had bumped into him, but Fifa handed him the longest ban in World Cup history.
As well as a four-month ban from any football-related activity, Suarez was also given a nine-match international suspension.
Uruguay football officials say they plan to appeal against the suspension.
The decision to ban Suarez for four months has split opinion.
While the likes of former England captain Alan Shearer and ex-USA goalkeeper Brad Friedel have argued the ban is fair, reaction in Uruguay has largely been of anger.
Huge crowds gathered at Montevideo airport on Thursday as expectations grew that Suarez would be flying there.
Fans wait for Luis Suarez at Montevideo airport
Uruguay’s Sports Minister Liliam Kechichian said the punishment was a “disproportionate sanction” that “hurts us”, while Uruguay Football Association president Wilmar Valdez claimed the ban was “excessive”.
He added: “It feels like Uruguay has been thrown out of the World Cup.”
Suarez’s lawyer, Alejandro Balbi, said the player was “totally distraught”, while his grandmother, Lila Piriz Da Rosa, said her grandson had been treated like “a dog”.
She added: “Everyone knows what they’ve done to Luis. They wanted him out of the World Cup. Perfect, they did it.” (BBC)
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