Luis Suarez accused of spitting at Seattle coach after Inter Miami’s defeat

Luis Suarez is facing fresh scrutiny after appearing to spit at a member of the Seattle Sounders’ coaching staff following Inter Miami’s 3-0 defeat in the Leagues Cup final, Sport360NG reports.

The flashpoint came moments after the final whistle, when a scuffle broke out involving players from both teams. Suarez, 38, initially clashed with Obed Vargas, grabbing the Sounders midfielder by the neck. The situation escalated further when Sergio Busquets struck Vargas on the chin before Suarez was restrained by team-mate Oscar Ustari as he confronted a Sounders coach, at which point he seemed to spit in the staff member’s direction.

Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer admitted the incident took some gloss off his side’s emphatic victory.
“Unfortunately, that is going to take some of the attention away from a great performance by the Seattle Sounders,” he said. “Their players were frustrated and that led to things that shouldn’t happen. But the story of the game is not what happened afterwards.”

Inter Miami boss Javier Mascherano distanced himself from the row, insisting he did not witness the altercation.
“I was far away and didn’t see what happened,” he said. “Nobody wants to see those types of actions. Maybe there was provocation, but I can’t say for sure.”

Suarez has a long history of controversy, including an eight-match ban at Liverpool in 2011 for racially abusing Patrice Evra and suspensions for three separate biting incidents while at Ajax, Liverpool and with Uruguay.

On the pitch, Seattle sealed their trophy with goals from Osaze De Rosario, Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock at Lumen Field, producing a dominant display against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.