Banned Suarez returns to Uruguay, misses crowds who had come to greet him

Fans of Uruguay's national soccer team await for the arrival of Uruguay player Luis Suarez with a sign that reads in Spanish "Little Luis, Hold On", at Carrasco International Airport in the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 26, 2014. The Uruguay forward, widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, was banned by FIFA from all football for four months on Thursday for biting an Italian opponent in an incident that marred the team's victory and progression to the second round. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico) (The Associated Press)

Fans of Uruguay's national soccer team await the arrival of Uruguay player Luis Suarez at Carrasco International Airport in the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, June 26, 2014. The Uruguay forward, widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, was banned by FIFA from all football for four months on Thursday for biting an Italian opponent in an incident that marred the team's victory and progression to the second round. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico) (The Associated Press)

Luis Suarez has returned home to Uruguay, but he's missed the crowds who had come to greet a national hero expelled from the World Cup for biting.

Suarez landed early Thursday on a private flight, hours after the expected arrival time.

President Jose Mujica was among some 1,000 people who came to Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo to greet Suarez Thursday night, but the president and the rest of the crowd left well before he arrived. He left without making comments to the press.