Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez has been handed a six-match suspension for spitting at a Seattle Sounders’ staff member following his side’s 3-0 Leagues Cup final defeat.
The incident happened shortly after the full-time whistle of the match on 31 August, following a scuffle involving both sets of players and sparked by the Uruguayan.
Suarez grabbed Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas around the neck, before team-mate Sergio Busquets struck the Mexico international on the chin, while Miami defender Tomás Avilés was also involved in aggressive behavior.
Moments later, Suarez was involved in an altercation with Sounders director of security Gene Ramirez and was held back by team-mate Oscar Ustari before spitting in Ramirez’s face.
According to a post on Fabrizio Romano’s Facebook page, Inter Miami forward has been handed a six-match suspension following an incident after the Leagues Cup final against the Seattle Sounders.
The ban comes after the player was found guilty of spitting at a member of the Sounders’ staff, a move that has drawn widespread criticism. The suspension is a major setback for Miami as they look to maintain momentum in the new campaign.
The post reads:
Luis Suárez has been SUSPENDED for 6-matches for spitting at Seattle Sounders staff after the Leagues Cup final.
Also suspended for future Leagues Cup matches for their roles in the postgame melee following Seattle’s 3-0 win were Sounders coaching staff member Steven Lenhart, who drew a five-match ban; Inter Miami’s Tomas Aviles, who got a three-match ban; and Sergio Busquets, banned for two matches.
These suspensions only cover future participation in the Leagues Cup, the midseason tournament featuring MLS and Liga MX teams that just concluded its fifth edition. It’s unclear whether MLS will do so. Inter Miami are slated to host the Sounders on Sept. 16 in league play.
Suarez, the Uruguayan international who once played for Liverpool and Barcelona has a history of bad behavior on the field. Three times he has been suspended for biting opponents, and he once was suspended for racial abuse, though he denied the allegation.
He was also one of the villains of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, when his cynical handball on the goal line denied Ghana what would have been a late winner in the quarter-finals.
Suarez has six goals and 10 assists in 22 MLS matches this season, and he added three goals and three assists in six Leagues Cup matches.
In an earlier post, Softfootball reported that Luis Diaz has expressed his delight after joining Bayern Munich from Liverpool this summer. The Colombian international says it is always an honor to represent a major club and described Bayern as one of the biggest club in the wold.
