Major League Soccer has suspended Inter Miami striker Luis Suárez for three league matches following his involvement in a mass brawl after the Leagues Cup final against the Seattle Sounders. The incident saw Suárez put Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas in a headlock before later being caught on camera spitting at Sounders security director Gene Ramirez.
The league also revoked the credential of Sounders team psychologist Steven Lenhart, a former MLS player, for the remainder of the 2025 season. Lenhart was among a large group of players and staff who joined the melee. Inter Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets escaped MLS punishment despite being shown raising his hand to Vargas’s face.
Suárez’s ban will see him miss crucial matches as Miami aim to improve their playoff seeding: away to Charlotte FC on 13 September, at home against the Sounders three days later, and a home game against DC United on 20 September. Miami currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference, four points off home-field advantage in the first round.
The MLS suspensions are less severe than those issued by the Leagues Cup, which banned Suárez for six games, Busquets for two, Lenhart for five, and Miami defender Tomás Áviles for three. However, with Suárez (38) and Busquets (37) out of contract at season’s end, they may not serve those bans.
Suárez apologised on Instagram, saying: “It was a moment of great tension and frustration … I was wrong and I sincerely regret it.” Inter Miami released a statement condemning the scenes but stopped short of apologising.
