Ex-Barcelona and Atletico Madrid forward Luis Suarez handed further ban following spitting incident

Inter Miami star Luis Suarez has had a storied career, but shaded by the occasional tendency to lower himself below the bar of what is acceptable competition. Despite having had a relatively incident-free few years, Suarez was recently suspended for spitting on a Seattle Sounders staff member during their 3-0 loss in the final.

During a major skirmish between Inter Miami and the Sounders, involving most of the players and plenty of staff, Suarez was seen spitting on Sounders coach Steven Lenhart. The usually much more cool-headed Sergio Busquets was also spotted throwing a soft punch at an opponent too.

Suarez ban extended by MLS

The 38-year-old forward was handed a six-game ban for his involvement by the Disciplinary Committee for the Leagues Cup, ruling him out for the entirety of next year’s competition, having occurred in the final. As per Sport, Major League Soccer have also taken action, and have banned Suarez for Inter Miami’s next three regular season games too. Interestingly, Lenhart has also had his accreditation revoked, and he will not be permitted to access zones of the stadium that are not open to the general public for the remainder of the 2025 season. Incidentally, one of the games Suarez is suspended for sees Javier Mascherano’s outfit face Seattle in Miami.

Luis Suarez apology on Instagram

Suarez emitted an apology after incident, but for many, his action were inexcusable.

“First of all, I want to congratulate the Seattle Sounders on their Leagues Cup victory. But above all, I want to apologise for my behaviour at the end of the match. It was a very tense and frustrating moment, and right after the game ended, things happened that shouldn’t have happened, but that doesn’t justify my reaction. I was wrong, and I sincerely regret it.

“That’s not the image I want to project, neither in front of my family, who are suffering because of my mistakes, nor in front of my club, which also doesn’t deserve to be affected by something like this. I feel bad about what happened and didn’t want to miss the opportunity to acknowledge it and apologize to everyone who felt bad about what I did.”