has charged Luis Suarez for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in the World Cup's Group D match on Tuesday.
FIFA said early Wednesday that its disciplinary committee has opened proceedings against the Uruguay forward. If the panel finds Suarez guilty of assaulting an opponent, FIFA rules call for a ban of at least two matches up to a maximum of 24 months.
FIFA asked the team to present evidence by 5 p.m. Wednesday. A decision must be published before Saturday, when Uruguay plays Colombia in a round-of-16 match.
Uruguay advanced by beating Italy 1-0 on Tuesday in Natal. One minute before the decisive goal, Suarez clashed with Chiellini and was caught by television cameras biting his shoulder. Match referee Marco Rodriguez of Mexico appeared not to see the incident and took no action.
The longest ban in World Cup history was eight games for Italy's Mauro Tassotti for breaking Spain's Luis Enrique's nose in 1994 with an elbow. Suarez has twice been banned for biting opponents -- for 10 matches in 2013 for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and in 2010 he was given a seven-game ban while playing for Ajax for biting PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkal.