Liverpool's Darwin Nunez has been slapped with a five-match international ban following his involvement in the player-fan altercations after Uruguay's defeat to Colombia at the Copa America last summer.
The ban means that Nunez won't be able to represent his country until a World Cup qualifier against Brazil in November. Meanwhile, Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur has also received a four-match suspension.
Nunez has been charged for his part in the fracas after it is understood he climbed into the crowd in an attempt to protect his loved ones after the family section had been stormed. The striker is also said to have thrown a foldable chair but a security guard intervened and ensured it didn’t hit anyone.
The ugly scenes took place after La Celeste were beaten 1-0 in the semi-final as fans took over the section where the Uruguayan players’ families were seated. It’s understood three other Uruguay players have received three-match suspensions - Mathias Olivera, Ronaldo Araujo and Jose Gimenez.
South American football governing body CONMEBOL sanctioned a total of 11 players and fined the Uruguay FA $120,000. Fellow Uruguay internationals Santiago Mele, Matias Vina, Sebastian Caceres, Emiliano Martinez, Facundo Pellistri and Brian Rodriguez have been fined $5,000 each for their part in the brawl.
Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa slammed the US authorities for the trouble that broke out in the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina last month. "The only thing I can say is that the players reacted as any human being would have done," he said.
"If they are attacking his wife, his mother, a baby, his wife, his sister... What do you do? Do you ask if they are going to sanction those who went to defend? There is a degree of complicity, because the questions also act in a complicit manner. You (the journalists) have to say this, not what I have to say."
Atletico Madrid defender Gimenez, one of the players who received a three-game ban, fumed at the lack of security around the players' family in a post-match interview after leaving the scene of the chaos. "Let me say something before they cut you off because they won't let us speak into the microphone,” he said.
"They don't want me to say anything about what's going on but this is a disaster. Please be careful, our families are in the stands, there are little newborn babies.
"It was a disaster; there was no police and we had to defend our families. This is the fault of two or three people who had a few too many drinks and don't know how to drink."
Nunez’s ban means he will miss the September internationals against Guatemala, Paraguay and Venezuela, as well as the October fixtures against Peru and Ecuador and the opening November game against Colombia. La Celeste are currently 2nd in qualification for the 2026 World Cup which will be hosted in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
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