With Fifa's disciplinary code stipulating a maximum suspension of 24 matches or two years for offences of an extreme nature, Suarez could yet find himself being penalised with a record ban for an on-field incident.
After reacting furiously on the pitch following the incident, which went unseen by the Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez, Juventus defender Chiellini branded Suarez a "sneak" who is protected by Fifa because of his high-profile status. Suarez served a 10-game ban in the English Premier League in 2013 for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, having committed the same offence playing for Ajax three years earlier.
"Suarez is a sneak and he gets away with it because Fifa want their stars to play in the World Cup," Chiellini said. "I would love to see if they have the courage to do anything against him. It was ridiculous not to send Suarez off. It is clear, clear-cut. And then there was the obvious dive afterwards because he knew very well that he did something that he shouldn't have done."
Suarez said of the bite claims. "These situations happen on the field. I had contact with his shoulder, nothing more, things like that happen all the time." He added on possible action by the game's ruling body: "I don't know anything, if Fifa analyse each case separately it's going to be complicated."
Despite photographic evidence supporting Chiellini's claim to have been bitten, the centre-half was accused of "crying" by Uruguay's injured captain Diego Lugano.
"The worst of everything is the attitude of Chiellini," Lugano said. "He's a great player with an enormous status, but it doesn't correspond with Italian football as sportsmen leaving the field, crying and appealing against a rival. As a man, he disappointed me totally. I had him as a reference point. You need to show me what happened because I didn't see anything. Did you see it today or did you see what happened in other years?
"You couldn't have seen it today because nothing happened."
A Fifa spokesperson said: "We are awaiting the official match reports and will gather all the necessary elements in order to evaluate the matter."
Mauro Tassotti, the Italy defender, holds the record for the longest ban issued at a World Cup having been suspended for eight games in 1994 for breaking the nose of Spain midfielder Luis Enrique with an elbow.
Fifa said that its disciplinary committee has opened proceedings against Suarez. It had asked the team to present evidence today and a decision must be published before Monday, when Uruguay play Colombia in a round-of-16 match.
Jim Boyce, the Fifa vice-president and chairman of the referees' committee, hinted at a lengthier suspension by insisting that the governing body should "take whatever action necessary" if Suarez is found to have bitten Chiellini. "I have watched the incident several times on television," Boyce said.
Meanwhile, Michel D'Hooghe, a Fifa executive committee member, said: "It is very, very sad for everybody who loves football."
Suarez, who was suspended for seven games by the Dutch Football Association for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal while playing for Ajax in November 2010, grinned as he walked through the post-match interview area when asked repeatedly whether he had bitten Chiellini.
Despite the shocking nature of the incident, Suarez was defended by the Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez, who accused the media of pursuing the player in an attempt to report on his mistakes.
"There seems there is animosity against this football player," Tabarez said. "He just came out of a difficult moment and he has been penalised, but there are people hiding behind the tree waiting for something to happen."
Italy manager Cesare Prandelli, who announced his resignation following his team's defeat, supported Chiellini's claims by admitting he had seen the injury to the defender's shoulder. "I didn't see the images of Suarez but I did see the bite marks in Chiellini's shoulder," Prandelli said. Suarez has courted controversy on several occasions in recent years. Aside from the Bakkal and Ivanovic incidents, he was also sent off for a deliberate handball against Ghana at South Africa 2010 which denied the nation a place in the semifinals.
In December 2011, he was banned for eight games and fined 40,000 ($78,000) for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra during a Premier League fixture.
With Suarez facing the potential of severe punishment from Fifa, senior figures at Liverpool are expected to discuss the player's situation.
Suarez' past offences
• Used his hand to keep out Dominic Adiyah's header in the 2010 World Cup quarter-final between Uruguay and Ghana.
• In 2010 he was banned for seven matches after biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal on the shoulder when he played for Ajax.
• In 2011, Suarez was banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a match at Anfield.
• In April 2013 he was handed a 10-match suspension for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic during an English Premier League game.
• Yesterday sunk his teeth into Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder in an off-the-ball incident.
