New York (AFP) – Inter Miami star Luis Suarez was issued a three-game suspension by Major League Soccer on Monday for a spitting incident after Miami lost the Leagues Cup final to Seattle. Three days after the Leagues Cup imposed a six-match ban on Suarez for spitting at a Sounders official following a melee after Seattle’s 3-0 victory, MLS issued sanctions for league matches.
The 38-year-old former Uruguay, Liverpool, and Barcelona star will be suspended for Miami regular-season matches on Saturday at Charlotte and at home against Seattle on September 16 and DC United on September 20. MLS also revoked credential rights for Sounders staffer Steven Lenhart for the remainder of the season and playoffs, keeping him from being on or near the field or locker rooms. The Sounders were also fined an undisclosed sum for credential misappropriation.
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Inter Miami sit sixth in the Eastern Conference on 46 points — 11 behind conference leaders Philadelphia, but have four matches in hand. The Leagues Cup disciplinary committee said Suarez’s suspension would only apply to next year’s edition of the tournament, which features sides from MLS and Mexico’s Liga-MX. The Cup also issued Suarez’s Inter Miami teammate Sergio Busquets a two-match ban, and Miami’s Tomas Aviles was barred from three Cup matches while Lenhart was suspended for five Cup games.
In the August 31 Cup final, Suarez rushed at Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas and put him in a headlock, igniting a melee involving multiple players and staff from both clubs. Cameras later caught Suarez spitting at a Seattle staff member as he walked away from Vargas. Suarez had previously been hit with suspensions for biting and racially abusing opponents in separate incidents earlier in his career.
He apologized for his actions in a statement last Thursday, a day prior to the Cup-imposed punishments. “It was a moment of great tension and frustration, where right after the match things happened that shouldn’t have happened, but that doesn’t justify the reaction I had,” Suarez wrote on Instagram. “I was wrong and I sincerely regret it…I feel bad about what happened, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to acknowledge it and apologize to everyone who felt hurt by what I did.”
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