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Uruguay legend Luis Suarez has been handed a six-match ban by the Leagues Cup Organising Committee for spitting on a member of Seattle Sounders’ coaching staff following Inter Miami’s thumping on August 31. After Miami’s loss, Suarez, along with his teammates lost his composure and got involved in a brawl with Seattle’s team members. Sergio Busquets and Tomas Aviles also accompanied Suarez in the scuffle. There are reports that Busquets appeared to be throwing a punch and learning about his act, the Leagues Cup suspended the Spanish for two matches.
Argentina’s Tomas Aviles also got banned for three matches for his aggressive behaviour in the skirmish. From Sounders’ camp, their assistant coach Steven Lenhart was imposed with a five-match suspension for his violent act. Suarez, who has played a lot of football, isn’t expected to do such vulgar acts. However, the veteran’s past is filled with such controversies. In 2011, he was banned for eight matches after being held guilty of racially abusing Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra. Earlier, in 2010, he hit the headlines for biting PSV midfielder Otman Bakkal following which he was debarred from participating in the next seven matches for Ajax.
Luis Suarez issues apology
Suarez has issued an apology after getting slapped with the ban. Taking to his Instagram, the 38-year-old posted a story which read, "I made a mistake and sincerely apologize. It’s not the image I want to give in front of my family, that suffers because of my mistakes, in front of my club, that also doesn’t deserve seeing themselves affected by something like this. I feel bad for what happened, and I didn’t want to let pass the opportunity to recognize and apologize to everything that felt bad for what I did.”
Amidst these scenes, Inter Miami will next be seen in action against Charlotte at the Bank Of America Stadium on September 14. In the Major League Soccer (MLS) standings, Miami are currently in the third spot with 46 points earned 13 wins and seven losses in 25 outings.
