An Australian Rules footballer was suspended for 10 matches today after pleading guilty to biting an opponent's testicles during a game last week.
Peter Filandia (31) was playing for Port Melbourne against Springvale in the Victorian Football League.
Chad Davis, playing for Springvale, suffered a perforated scrotum and lost a small amount of blood, a club doctor told the investigating tribunal.
Filandia told the tribunal his actions were neither malicious nor premeditated.
He said he could not breathe when his opponent's legs were wrapped around his neck as the two players were tangled together on the ground.
However, Filandia did not know which part of his opponent's body he had bitten, he said.
"I know that what occurred was wrong and that I must pay the penalty for it.
"It was a split-second decision I made in a state of panic, and I emphasise panic, to release his grip (from) around my neck and mouth."
Tribunal chairman Eddie Power ordered Filandia to undergo player counselling.
