From bites to spits: Suarez sparks controversy by spitting on coaching staff in heated Leagues Cup final

Luis Suarez has been accused of spitting on a Seattle Sounders staff member as Inter Miami were thrashed 3-0 in the final of the Leagues Cup on Sunday at the Lumen Field stadium.

The videos going viral on social media platforms show Suarez allegedly spitting on a staff member from the Sounders team as a brawl broke out between the two sides following Miami’s loss.

Luis Suárez appeared to spit on a Seattle staff member after the final whistle in the Leagues Cup Final 👀

🎥: @MLS pic.twitter.com/gCMLdbwDlC

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 1, 2025

Suarez’s infamous biting incidents

Suarez has, over the years, been involved in various incidents of taking out his frustration on opponent players with his dark tactics. In 2010, while playing for Ajax, Suarez bit PSV’s Otman Bakkal on his shoulder, leading to a seven-match ban. In the Premier League, the Uruguay footballer bit Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic in a match in 2013, earning a 10-match suspension.

Suarez was also seen biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during a group-stage match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Suarez was then suspended for four months from all football activities and from nine international matches.

How Sounders defeated Miami

Osaze De Rosario opened the scoring for the Sounders in the Leagues Cup final.  De Rosario headed a cross from Alex Roldan into the bottom left corner of the net for his fourth goal in Leagues Cup play. Roldan scored on a penalty kick in the 84th minute, and Paul Rothrock found the net in the 89th to make it 3-0, to the delight of a sellout crowd of 69,314 at Lumen Field.

By winning the annual tournament featuring clubs from Major League Soccer and Liga MX, the Sounders earned a bye into the round of 16 in the next CONCACAF Champions Cup. Seattle also became the only MLS team to have won all five annual trophies available to clubs in the league, having already claimed the MLS Cup, the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the US Open Cup and the Supporters’ Shield.

Messi, who led Miami to the Leagues Cup title in 2023, had plenty of scoring chances, including one off a brilliant pass from Suárez in the 49th minute. But Messi couldn’t convert and was denied a 34th goal in as many Leagues Cup matches.

The Sounders, meanwhile, missed a couple of chances to make it even more lopsided. Jesús Ferreira ripped a shot off the left post in the 39th minute, and Rothrock was stopped on a breakaway in the 72nd.

Second-half substitute Georgi Minoungou drew a foul in the penalty area, leading to Roldan’s successful spot kick.

With agency inputs