FIFA has announced that Uruguay striker Luis Suarez will serve a nine-game ban for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.
Suarez has also been banned for four months from any football-related activity, preventing him from representing Liverpool until the end of October.
His nine-game international ban starts immediately so he will miss Uruguay's last-16 tie with Colombia and eight more competitive games.
He will also miss Liverpool's first nine league games of the season, including a visit to Manchester City on August 23 and home derby against Everton on September 27.
The ban means that Suarez can next expect to step on a football pitch on November 1 when Liverpool play Newcastle United - by which time the Champions League group stages will already be three games old.
Liverpool CEO Ian Ayre said: "Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the FIFA Disciplinary Committee report before making any further comment."
In the intervening time, Suarez is banned from even so much as entering a football stadium.
"Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field,” said Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.
"The Disciplinary Committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suarez’s guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code. The decision comes into force as soon it is communicated."
Furthermore, Suarez has been hit with a fine of 100,000 Swiss Francs (£65,700).
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