Inter Miami star Luis Suarez has been suspended for three Major League Soccer matches following a spitting incident after Miami’s 3-0 loss to Seattle in the Leagues Cup final.
The 38-year-old former Uruguay, Liverpool, and Barcelona striker was initially banned for six Leagues Cup games for spitting at a Sounders official during a post-match melee.
MLS confirmed Monday that the sanctions would also apply to regular-season matches.
Suarez will miss Inter Miami’s upcoming league games at Charlotte, at home against Seattle on Sept. 16, and against D.C. United on Sept. 20.
MLS also suspended Sounders staffer Steven Lenhart from all field and locker-room access for the remainder of the season and playoffs and fined the club an undisclosed amount for credential misappropriation.
Inter Miami sits sixth in the Eastern Conference with 46 points, 11 behind leaders Philadelphia, but holds four matches in hand.
The Leagues Cup disciplinary committee said Suarez’s suspension would apply only to next year’s edition of the tournament, which features teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.
The Cup also issued a two-match ban to Suarez’s Inter Miami teammate Sergio Busquets and barred Miami’s Tomas Aviles from three Cup matches, while Lenhart was suspended for five Cup games.
In the Aug. 31 Cup final, Suarez rushed at Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas and put him in a headlock, sparking 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 served 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 before 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.”
