Liverpool’s Nunez slapped with five-match suspension following Copa brawl

Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez has been handed a five-match international suspension for his involvement in a brawl between Uruguay players and Colombia fans at the Copa America, Soccernet.football reports.

Following Colombia’s 1-0 semi-final win in Charlotte, North Carolina back in July, several Uruguay players and staff members entered the stands to confront fans. 

During the altercation, players could be seen engaging in physical violence with Colombian supporters at the Bank of America Stadium, with videos later emerging of Nunez attempting to throw a chair into the crowd.

Six weeks later, CONMEBOL’s disciplinary commission has imposed a fine of $20,000 on the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) and has issued fines and/or suspensions for 11 players. Additionally, AUF official Marcelo Garcia has received a six-month stadium ban from all CONMEBOL competitions.

Nunez faces the harshest penalty after being banned from playing in Uruguay’s next five matches. He will miss World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, but will be eligible to return for the match against Brazil on November 16.

The 25-year-old has also received a $20,000 fine, the highest imposed. However, this amount will not come out of his personal funds, it will be deducted from the prize and broadcast money the AUF is set to receive.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur has been handed a four-game ban and fined $16,000 while Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez and Mathias Olivera have each received three-game bans and fines of $12,000.

Sebastian Caceres, Matias Vina, Emiliano Martinez, Brian Rodriguez, Santiago Mele, and Facundo Pellistri have been fined $5,000 (£3,780) but have not been suspended. All parties reserve the right to appeal the decisions within seven days, but doing so will require a $3,000 fee.