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Inter Miami striker Luis Suarez, formerly of Liverpool and Barcelona, among others, has been given an additional three-game ban for spitting at a Seattle Sounders staff member.
Suarez was given a six-match ban for his actions after the League Cup final defeat on August 31, but that only applied to future editions of that tournament. Major League Soccer (MLS) has now handed the Uruguayan a three-match ban, meaning he will miss matches against Charlotte FC, DC United and another clash with Seattle.
Inter Miami lost 3-0 in the final at Lumen Field. A scrap involving both sets of players broke out after the final whistle; Suarez grabbed opposition midfielder Obed Vargas and then spat on security director Gene Ramirez during a disagreement.
"It was a moment of much tension and frustration," Suarez wrote on Instagram afterward. "Just after the game ended, things happened that shouldn't have happened.
"But that doesn't justify my reaction. I made a mistake and sincerely apologize.
"It's not the image I want to give in front of my family, who suffer because of my mistakes, in front of my club, which also doesn't deserve to see themselves affected by something like this."
Suarez’s teammates Sergio Busquets and Tomas Aviles were also given two-game and three-game Leagues Cup bans, respectively, for their actions after the final whistle.
But unlike Suarez, who has attracted a further punishment, neither faces further action from the MLS. Their bans will apply only in the tournament that their relative misdemeanors took place in.
Sounders team psychologist Steven Lenhart, a former MLS player who was known for confrontations and physical play, has also faced being punished and banned. Lenhart was among a large group of Seattle Sounders players and staff who joined the melee and is also facing the consequences.
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Suarez’s ban is roughly in line with past MLS suspensions for spitting. However, this is the first incident that didn't take place during the course of a game.
Hector Herrera was suspended for two matches after being caught by the VAR spitting at a referee in the Houston Dynamo’s final game of last season. Real Salt Lake’s Jasper Loffelsend was also given a similar suspension in 2023.
Suarez was given an eight-match ban by the Football Association in 2011 after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
He has also previously served three separate bans — at Ajax and Liverpool, and also for Uruguay — for biting an opponent.
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