New Delhi: Uruguay’s Darwin Nunez and his other national team teammates have been reprimanded by the CONMEBOL for their brawl in their semi-final clash against Colombia at this summer’s Copa America 2024. The ban is for International matches which will affect Uruguay’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as some of their players will be unavailable for the qualifying games.
South American football’s governing body, CONMEBOL, has handed the Liverpool forward a five-match ban, while other players have also been banned by the body. Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been banned for four games while La Liga defenders Ronald Araujo and Jose Maria Gimenez, and Napoli left-back Mathas Olivera have all been handed a three-game ban.
The bans resulted from an altercation between the players and the fans following Uruguay’s 1-0 semi-final defeat to Colombia at Copa America 2024. The altercation saw players head into the stands and come to blows with the opposition supporters. Uruguayan captain Gimenez defended his players for those actions, stating that they were only trying to protect their families during that incident.
🚨🚨| OFFICIAL: Darwin Nunez has been given a FIVE-GAME BAN for his role in a post-match brawl! 🇺🇾🚫
The incident occurred after Uruguay’s 1-0 loss to Colombia in the Copa America semi-finals last month, involving players and fans inside the stadium. pic.twitter.com/sUXBOcWmOp
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) August 28, 2024
Apart from the suspensions, the players have also been handed hefty fines by the CONMEBOL. Nunez was fined $20,000, Bentancur was fined $16,000, while Araujo, Olivera, and Giménez have all been handed a $12,000 fine for their involvement. Moreover, the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) have also been given a fine of $20,000 by the governing body.
Uruguay’s manager Marcelo Bielsa has also come out to defend the actions of his players and has resonated with the comments made by his captain. He has also said that the players were acting in self-defence and were only focused on protecting their family members during the brawl. He said, “The only thing I can tell you is that the players reacted like any other human being would.”
The ban comes at a crucial time for them as they currently sit second in the standings of the South American World Cup qualifiers. All the suspended players will miss the country’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers, including games against Paraguay in Montevideo and Venezuela in Maturn in September and the games against Peru and Ecuador (home) in October, and Colombia (home) and Brazil (away) in November.
The Liverpool and Uruguay forward has been suspended for the next five International games that will see him miss Uruguay’s upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifying matches. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
