Inter Miami striker Luis Suarez has issued a written apology after appearing to spit on a Seattle Sounders staffer following Miami’s 3-0 loss in the Leagues Cup final. The match was played on August 31, and a scuffle broke out between both teams after the final whistle.
During the melee, several punches were thrown. Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets was caught on camera swinging at Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas. Suarez was in the thick of the fracas. He then approached a Sounders staff member, and as Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari tried to intervene, Suarez seemed to spit on the staffer.
The incident has been widely condemned as yet another act of bizarre behavior from the Uruguayan legend. Across Suarez’s club and international career, he has been banned three times for biting opponents.
“First of all, I want to congratulate the Seattle Sounders for their Leagues Cup victory,” Suarez wrote on Instagram in Spanish on Thursday. “But more importantly, I want to apologize for my behavior at the end of the game. It was a moment full of tension and frustration, when things took place at the end of the game that shouldn’t have occurred, but that doesn’t justify my reaction. I made a mistake and I’m sincerely sorry.
“That’s not the image that I want to portray in front of my family, who suffer for my errors, and (Inter Miami) doesn’t deserve to be affected by this either. I feel bad for what happened and I did not want to miss this opportunity to recognize it and ask everyone for forgiveness who felt poorly about what I did.
“We know there is still a lot of season to play for and we’re going to work together in order to accomplish the goals that this club and its fans deserve.”
Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano said after the match he had “nothing to say” because he was too far from the melee. “Obviously, you never like this type of thing, but if there was a reaction, possibly there was also instigation,” he added on Sunday.
MLS has yet to respond publicly to the incident. Suarez, as of publication, has not yet been sanctioned by the league. Former Houston Dynamo midfielder Hector Herrera was suspended three games in November 2024 for spitting in the direction of a referee during a regular-season match. It was his last appearance with Houston.
(Photo: Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
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