Inter Miami forward Luis Suárez has apologised after an incident in which he spat at a Seattle Sounders staff member following Miami’s 3-0 defeat in the Leagues Cup final on Sunday.
The 38-year-old striker issued a statement on Instagram on Thursday, admitting his reaction was unacceptable.
“It was a moment of great tension and frustration, where right after the match things happened that shouldn’t have happened, but that doesn’t justify the reaction I had,” Suárez wrote.
“I was wrong, and I sincerely regret it.”
The Sounders stunned Lionel Messi’s star-studded Inter Miami side at Lumen Field, lifting the trophy with a dominant performance.
Tensions boiled over at the final whistle when Suárez clashed with 20-year-old Seattle midfielder Obed Vargas, putting him in a headlock before being separated by officials. As he walked away, broadcast cameras appeared to capture Suárez spitting at a Sounders staff member.
In his apology, the former Barcelona and Liverpool striker acknowledged the seriousness of his behaviour.
“I feel bad about what happened, and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to acknowledge it and apologise to everyone who felt hurt by what I did,” he added.
Speculation is mounting over potential sanctions, but Suárez struck an optimistic tone about Miami’s season.
“We know there’s still a lot of the season ahead, and we’re going to work together to achieve the successes that this club and all of its fans deserve,” he said.
Suárez has a long history of controversial moments in football, including a four-month ban from the 2014 World Cup for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini, multiple suspensions for biting incidents in club football, and an eight-game ban in 2011 for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra.
He also gained infamy at the 2010 World Cup for his deliberate handball that denied Ghana a historic quarter-final victory.
