Luis Suarez's actions at Anfield on Sunday brought back memories for me this week of an incident that happened over 20 years ago.
Proof, as it were, of just how nasty a bite can be.
Lived to tell the tale: Colin Gordon is now a football agent
Actually, it wasn't the coming together of a set of teeth on an arm which caused the problem for a pal of mine, it was the teeth themselves breaking the skin that was the issue.
Let me explain.
When I was a cub reporter, working in the Black Country, I followed Stourbridge, managed by Colin Gordon, a striker who had been part of the original Crazy Gang at Wimbledon. He's now a well-respected agent. (Yes, they do exist!)
During the course of a career in which the forward signed for about one dozen Football League clubs, he played for Birmingham City.
I've not been able to speak to him this week, but I vividly remember him telling me one night at the War Memorial Ground about an issue that he had after an altercation with Swansea City's Chris Coleman, during a match at St Andrew's.
Gordon was trying to create some room for himself at the near post as a corner was being taken and, having been pursued relentlessly by Wales' manager for the majority of the game, decided to teach the young pup a lesson.
He gave the defender a back-hander, the problem being that Coleman's tooth ripped into the skin on the forward's hand. Unbeknown to Gordon, it had also pierced one of the veins in his hand.
Clash: Gordon (above) tried to teach Chris Coleman (below) a lesson
He went to hospital for an X-ray and was told that he had broken his hand. Serves him right, you might think.
But, over the weekend, Gordon said that he began to hallucinate and his arm began to shake.
He had a daughter at the time and said it got that bad that he had to use her plastic cup with a lid on it to take on fluids.
At that time, Birmingham had a doctor who routinely had a word with the players on Monday mornings.
On that given day, Gordon went to see the medic and was immediately rushed to hospital.
Upon his arrival and during the subsequent prognosis which followed he was told that a human bite is worse than a dog bite if the bacteria enters the bloodstream.
He subsequently spent one week in hospital on a drip and was told that he would have lost his arm, had the medics not acted as swiftly.
At the time, he showed me the double puncture mark on his fist.
Back then, he made light of the issue. But clearly, even though he freely admits it was his own fault, it could have been no laughing matter.
In its' own way, it was an indefensible act. Just as Suarez's was at Anfield.
Thankfully, the worst that appears to have come out of the Uruguayan's misdemeanour is a ten-match ban. Rather that, than have Branislav Ivanovic suffer anything more untoward.
Thankfully, Aston Villa were not caught in a situation where Manchester United needed to press home their superiority on Monday night by scoring goals.
Three-up after 30 minutes and, having hit the crossbar and the post, the onus was no longer on the hosts to chase the game.
True, Christian Benteke could have made a game of it ...
But coulda, woulda, shoulda amounts to the same thing in the final reckoning. Just take a look at the scoreline.
Having discussed the situation myself with a former Villa player on Tuesday morning, we came up with the following solution.
Now, it's been my own personal view for a season now that Villa's midfield is the weakest in the Premier League.
That being the case - and looking at ways in which a chronic influx of goals might be stemmed - a massed rank of bodies seems the only way forward as Villa's players seem incapable of shielding a back-four which has been routinely ripped open.
Matt Lowton (above) is far better going forward than he is as defender. Joe Bennett is a wing-back, if anything, and reverting to three centre-halves may allow the pair of them to get forward.
In midfield, use three players directly in front of them, ordering Lowton and Bennett behind the ball whenever Villa aren't in possession.
With the other two, ie Benteke and Andreas Weimann, tell them to stand on the halfway line and chase any ball that's booted in the big Belgian's direction.
They can feed off his flicks and knock-ons. He wins practically everything anyway.
Make sure the front two stay as far up the pitch as possible, asking them to cause as much havoc as they can.
It's a bit primitive. Actually, it's a lot primitive, but how else do you stem the flow of goals?
I've seen Paul Lambert try every formation possible this season and, apart from when Charles N'Zogbia has managed to get out of bed on the right side, it appears to be the most workable.
Shuffle the ball out wide to the wing-backs, smack diagonals at Benteke and hope for the best.
Or am I clutching at straws, desperate to find a winning formula that will help Villa limp over the finishing line?
Of course. You're right. Silly me.
