Miami’s Suarez at center of spitting incident after Leagues Cup loss

Miami’s Suarez at center of spitting incident after Leagues Cup loss
Inter Miami and Seattle Sounders players break up a melee involving multiple players and staff from both sides. (AP)
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Updated 01 September 2025

Miami’s Suarez at center of spitting incident after Leagues Cup loss

Miami’s Suarez at center of spitting incident after Leagues Cup loss
  • The veteran Uruguay striker’s reputation as one of the game’s arch villians was cemented when he bit Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup

LOS ANGELES, United States: Luis Suarez appeared to spit at a staff member of the opposing team during an ugly brawl following Inter Miami’s 3-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday.
Immediately after the final whistle at Lumen Field, veteran Uruguay striker Suarez rushed at 20-year-old Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas and put him in a headlock, sparking a melee involving multiple players and staff from both sides.
Officials scrambled to restore order, but cameras caught Suarez appearing to spit at a Seattle coach as he walked away from Vargas.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said afterwards he was too far away to comment on any specific incidents.
“Nobody likes these kinds of actions at the end of a match, but if there’s a reaction, maybe there was provocation,” he said.
Certainly there were multiple scuffles before the trophy ceremony finally got under way, with both teams still in attendance.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer took the high road, preferring to focus on the strong collective effort from his team in a victory over a Miami side led by Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.
“Unfortunately that is going to take some of the attention away from a great performance by the Seattle Sounders,” Schmetzer said of the brawl.
“I guess we can take that as a compliment that Miami’s frustrations 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,” said Schmetzer, who added he had a “quiet moment” with Messi on the field after the game.
But Suarez will be under scrutiny for his role.
The 38-year-old’s reputation as one of the game’s arch villians was cemented when he bit Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup.
He has also been sanctioned for biting incidents and racist abuse of an opposing player in club play.


Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge

Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge
Updated 8 sec ago

Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge

Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge
  • Barcelona found their equalizer in the 77th minute when Yamal lifted a cross into the box and defender Seys headed the ball into his own net when trying to clear

BRUGES, Belgium: Barcelona fought back three times to snatch a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, equalising for the final time late in the game with an own goal from 20-year-old Belgium defender Joaquin Seys.
Barcelona are now 11th in the standings on seven points from four matches while Club Brugge sit 22nd on four points, with both teams still in the hunt for qualification.
In a thriller at Brugge’s Jan Breydel Stadium, the home side opened the scoring through Nicolo Tresoldi in the sixth minute, after a quick counter by Carlos Forbs that exposed the vulnerability of Barcelona’s high defense.
The 21-year-old jet-heeled Portuguese forward controlled a long ball in his stride to beat the offside trap up the right channel before bursting into the box and crossing low for Tresoldi to score with a tidy finish past the goalkeeper.
Barcelona hit right back with Ferran Torres from close range two minutes later but Brugge regained the lead in the 17th minute with Forbs scoring after another quick counter.
In an end-to-end encounter with both sides creating several chances, Jules Kounde struck the crossbar in the 27th minute as Barcelona tried to find the equalizer, while Ferran Torres missed from close range right before the break.

FRANTIC FINALE
Barcelona keeper Wojciech Szczesny made a stunning save early in the second half when Seys entered the penalty box in a counter-attack and struck a bullet shot from close range that the veteran Polish keeper blocked away brilliantly.
Barca defender Eric Garcia almost scored in the 59th minute with a thunderous strike from long range that exploded off the crossbar but it was teenager Lamine Yamal who scored a brilliant individual goal one minute later to level the match again. However, it took Club Brugge only two minutes to get back the lead, with Forbs scoring from another counter-attack, beating Barcelona’s high defense again for the umpteenth time before chipping a tidy finish round Szczesny into the net.
Barcelona found their equalizer in the 77th minute when Yamal lifted a cross into the box and defender Seys headed the ball into his own net when trying to clear.
There was more drama as Brugge thought they had scored the winner in added time through Romeo Vermant, thanks to what looked to have been a massive blunder by Szczesny. But the VAR video review ruled out the goal as the forward fouled the keeper in his effort to recover the ball, helping Barca rescue a point.
“They have created a lot of danger on the counter-attack and we should have done much better everywhere,” a visibly frustrated Ferran Torres told Movistar Plus.
“It seemed like that with two passes they were already in our box. We have to find ways to improve. The team reacted well, we had a lot of chances. But when you’re behind... It’s tough.”