The roller-coaster career of Luis Suarez hit another low point after the veteran striker appeared to spit in the face of a Seattle Sounders coach after Inter Miami were humbled 3-0 in the Leagues Cup final.
Despite fielding all four of their former Barcelona stars in Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi and Suarez, Miami fell to a comprehensive defeat at Lumen Field.
Osaze De Rosario opened the scoring after 26 minutes, while two late goals from Alex Roldan – from the penalty spot – and Paul Rothrock secured victory for Seattle, denying Miami victory in the competition they won two seasons ago in Messi's first season at the club.
A mass brawl was sparked after the final whistle when Suarez grabbed Obed Vargas in a headlock before teammate Busquets punched the Seattle midfielder on the chin.
Suarez, 38, went to ground at one point before getting back to his feet and was screaming at a Sounders staff member despite the efforts of Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari to break up the melee.
It was then that Suarez was caught on camera appearing to spit at the opposition coach. “Unfortunately, that is going to take some of the attention away from a great performance by the Seattle Sounders,” said Seattle boss Brian Schmetzer.
“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.
“Tonight was our night. They have unbelievably talented players. We were under it in the second half, and they probably should have scored a couple of goals. But we played smart, kept our composure, and that’s why we won.”
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano insisted that he was too far away to see what had occurred.
“Nobody likes for there to be these types of actions,” said the former Barcelona player. “Maybe there was provocation, but I don't know what happened.”
Suarez is no stranger to controversy in a career that has seen him banned three times for biting opponents while playing for Ajax, Liverpool and Uruguay.
In 2010, Suarez was hit with a seven-match ban by the Dutch FA for biting PSV Eindhoven player Otman Bakkal.
He then repeated the act three years later after joining Liverpool when Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic was left with bite marks on his arm after clashing with Suarez during a Premier League game at Anfield.
He was given a 10-game ban by the English Football Association whose independent panel said “such deplorable behaviours do not have a place in football”.
Incredibly, Suarez did it again at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder during Uruguay's group-stage defeat.
“Suarez is a sneak,” said Chiellini after the incident which had seen the Uruguayan go to ground holding his mouth, suggesting he had been elbowed in the face. “The referee saw the bite mark too, but he did nothing about it.”
Football's governing body Fifa banned Suarez from all “football-related activities” for four months, delaying his debut for new club Barcelona.
During his spell on Merseyside, Suarez was also hit with an eight-game suspension for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
Meanwhile, Sunday's defeat saw Seattle, whose $16.7 million payroll is dwarfed by Miami's $46.8m total, become the first Major League Soccer team to win every North American trophy.
Seattle have won two MLS Cup crowns, an MLS Supporters Shield, four US Open Cups and a Concacaf Champions Cup in their six-year history.
“We have a great team,” added Schmetzer. "They might not be the names that are in the world stage, but they’re certainly talented people. They put everything into their craft. They’re not household names across the world, but as a collective, they’re very strong.”
An ecstatic De Rosario added: “What's going through my mind right now? It's crazy, it's a dream come true, I beat Messi in a final!”
Both finalists in the tournament featuring teams from MLS and Mexico's Liga-MX were already assured of 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup places.
And victory earned Seattle direct entry to the last 16 of the regional tournament that will decide one of the berths at the 2029 Fifa Club World Cup.
