Veteran Uruguayan star Luis Suarez has been slapped with a six-match ban by the Leagues Cup Organising Committee following his latest bizarre incident involving his mouth on the football field. The 38-year-old Inter Miami star landed in trouble after appearing to spit at a member of the Seattle Sounders’ coaching staff after his team’s 0-3 defeat in the Leagues Cup final.
As the Sounders concluded a 3-0 victory in Seattle to win the cup, the teams got in a scuffle that featured the Suarez spitting incident as well as Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets appearing to throw a punch.
The Leagues Cup suspended Busquets for two games and Miami defender Tomas Aviles for three games for their aggressive behaviour in the melee. And Sounders assistant coach Steven Lenhart was handed a five-game suspension after similarly being reported for violent conduct.
Suarez’s apology
“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,” Suarez wrote on social media.
Duele ver así a una leyenda del fútbol como Luis Suarez. pic.twitter.com/D33BWHX7jg
— Pablo Giralt (@giraltpablo) September 1, 2025
“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. We know there is still a lot of season left ahead and we will work together to try and get the triumphs that this club and its fans deserve. A hug to all.”
How the coaches reacted
Following the incident, Seattle boss Brian Schmetzer said: “Unfortunately, that is going to take some of the attention away from a great performance by the Seattle Sounders. Their players were frustrated and that led to some things happening on the field that shouldn’t happen on the field. I’m going to shut that down, because that shouldn’t be the story. The story of the game is not what happened after the game.”
Suarez’s coach Javier Mascherano remarked: “I have nothing to say because I was far away and didn’t see what happened. Nobody likes for there to be these types of actions. Maybe there was provocation, but I don’t know what happened.”
Suarez’s past ‘mouth’ incidents
In October 2011, while playing against Manchester United, Suarez was involved in a racial abuse incident with Patrice Evra. An FA report from 2012 stated that Suarez told Evra, “Porque tu eres negro,” which Evra understood to mean, “Because you are a n***.”
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The report also noted that Evra now believes the phrase translates to “Because you are black.” Despite Suarez’s denials, he received an eight-match ban and a £40,000 fine. The controversy continued when Suarez refused to shake Evra’s hand before their next match in February, though he later apologized. Moreover, Suarez has been banned on three separate occasions for biting opponents while playing for Ajax, Liverpool, and the Uruguayan national team.
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