Luis Suarez suspended by MLS for decisive Inter Miami playoff game vs. Nashville

Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald on Nov 5, 2025

Published in Soccer

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MIAMI — Inter Miami forward Luis Suarez has been suspended by the MLS disciplinary committee for Saturday’s decisive MLS playoff game against Nashville SC for “violent conduct” during Game 2 of the series.

He also was issued an undisclosed fine.

The committee ruled that Suarez kicked Nashville defender Andy Najar while the two were running in the box in the 71st minute of Miami’s 2-1 loss at GEODIS Park in Nashville last Saturday. Najar fell to the ground, but no foul was called on the play.

The MLS disciplinary committee, comprised of three former MLS players (one designated by the MLS Players Association), one former MLS coach and one former MLS referee, deemed the off-the-ball kick rose to the level of a red card and made the ruling under Parameter 3 of its guidelines for postmatch reviews and action:

“Where the officials see an incident and do not issue a red card or act on a case of clear and obvious simulation/embellishment that meets the conditions for suspension.”

The committee also fined Inter Miami defender Ian Fray an undisclosed amount for violating the league’s policy regarding simulation/embellishment in the fourth minute of that same match.

Inter Miami issued the following statement in response to Suarez’s suspension: “Inter Miami accepts and respects the decision made by the MLS Disciplinary Committee. At the same time, the club wishes to express its concern about the precedent set by re-refereeing a play that had already been judged by the match officials and VAR, and its confidence that the same standard will be applied in the future to all-on field situations, in any match and involving any team.”

Suarez’s suspension comes at a critical time, as Inter Miami and Nashville SC are tied 1-1 in the best-of-3 first-round series. The teams meet at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday night. The winner advances to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the winner of the series between FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew, which is also level at 1-1.

Inter Miami, with Messi and the league’s most expensive payroll, fell far short of expectations last season, losing in the first round of the playoffs. The team is highly motivated not to have another opening-round exit.

It is the second time this season that Suarez, the 38-year-old Uruguayan forward, was suspended by the league.

He was suspended for three MLS regular-season games in September, in addition to a six-game 2026 Leagues Cup ban, as punishment for his behavior on the field immediately after the 2025 Leagues Cup final against the Seattle Sounders on Aug. 31.

Suarez, who was seen grabbing a Sounders player by the neck and later spitting on a Seattle security official, served the three-match suspension on Sept. 13 (at Charlotte FC), Sept. 16 (vs. Seattle Sounders) and Sept. 20 (vs. D.C. United).

He issued an apology after that incident, expressing deep remorse.

“First of all, I want to congratulate the Seattle Sounders for their victory in the Leagues Cup; but, most of all, I want to apologize for my behavior at the end of the game,” Suarez’s statement began.

“It was a moment a great tension and frustration, right after the game ended, and things happened that should not have happened, but that does not justify my reaction. I made a mistake, and I sincerely regret it.

“That is not the image I want in front of my family, which suffers due to my errors, nor in front of my club, which also doesn’t deserve to see itself affected for something like this.

“I feel badly for what happened and I didn’t want to let the opportunity go by without acknowledging it and asking forgiveness from everyone who felt bad for what I did.

“We know that there is still a lot of our season ahead, and we will work together to succeed and reach the goals that this club and all its fans deserve.

“A hug to all.”

Suarez, one of the greatest strikers in history with more than 500 goals for club and country, has had his legacy stained by disciplinary issues.

He was banned on three occasions for biting opponents during matches.

The most famous biting incident occurred during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when Suarez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on the shoulder. He was banned for four months from all soccer-related activities for Uruguay and FC Barcelona, including training, and had to miss nine international matches.

A year earlier, while a star with Liverpool in the English Premier League, he received a 10-game ban after biting the forearm of Chelsea fullback Branislav Ivanovic.

He was also banned for eight games in 2011 after being found guilty of a racist slur against Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, a charge he vehemently denied at the time and since.

In 2010, while playing for Ajax in the Netherlands, Suarez bit the shoulder of Eindhoven’s Otman Bakkal and was handed a seven-game ban by the Dutch football federation. He had avoided serious sanctions for more than 10 years until this season.