Luis Suarez’s latest head loss: Liverpool legend handed heavy ban after SPITTING in rival coach’s face – with three others punished after ugly scenes – as Inter Miami star breaks silence on vile act
Former Liverpool star Luis Suarez has been handed a six match ban after spitting at a rival coach.
The striker’s infamous temper boiled over after his team’s 3-0 defeat by Seattle Sounders in the final of the Leagues Cup.
Footage showed Suarez confronting a Sounders staff member near the middle of the pitch as a brawl broke out after the final whistle.
The 38-year-old got in the coach’s face before appearing to spit at him, seemingly hitting him on the face as Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari tried to intervene.
Suarez now faces the prospect of being sidelined for years after being hit with a hefty six-game Leagues Cup ban.
He will begin serving his suspension when the 2026 tournament kicks off – but the punishment could stretch well into 2027 and beyond.
Luis Suarez was caught on video spitting at a Seattle Sounders coach after Inter Miami’s loss
Suarez confronted the Sounders coach as a brawl erupted on the field at the full-time whistle
The 38-year-old took to social media to issue an apology, insisting he ‘regrets’ his actions
That’s because the competition lasts a maximum of six matches – three in the group phase followed by a straight knockout. If Inter Miami fail to make the semi-finals, Suárez’s ban will automatically spill over into the following year’s edition.
It means the veteran forward could spend multiple seasons effectively frozen out of one of MLS’s biggest showpiece events.
Suarez isn’t the only player to have been banned, with team-mate Sergio Busquets handed a two-match suspension.
The ex-Barcelona midfielder appeared to throw a punch at Sounders’ Obed Vargas during the brawl.
Miami’s Tomas Aviles has been handed a three-match suspension, while Sounders coach Steven Lenhart will serve a five-game ban, with all four individuals involved also hit with fines.
Suarez took to social media on Thursday to issue an apology, posting: ‘Things happened right after the match that shouldn’t have happened, but that doesn’t justify my reaction.
‘I was wrong and I sincerely regret it. It’s not the image I want to portray, neither to my family, who are suffering because of my mistakes, nor to my club, which doesn’t deserve to be affected by something like this.’
Both sets of players were seen brawling on the pitch shortly after the final whistle
Suarez has a past littered with controversy, including incidents that made global headlines
Suarez has a past littered with controversy on the pitch, including multiple incidents that made global headlines.
He was banned for eight matches and fined by the English FA in 2011 for making racist remarks toward Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.
Suarez later refused to shake Evra’s hand in a highly charged Premier League meeting.
During the 2014 World Cup, he was suspended for four months after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini – the third biting incident of his career.
He had previously bitten Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic while playing for Liverpool and Otman Bakkal during his time at Ajax.
