Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez is among 11 players banned by CONMEBOL after violent scenes following Colombia’s 1-0 win over Uruguay in the 2024 Copa America semi-finals.
Nunez was seen climbing into the stands after the game with violence breaking out in the area of the stadium where the players’ families were seated.
Nunez has been handed the most intense ban of five games with international team-mate and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur banned for four games.
It means that Nunez will miss matches against Paraguay, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia before finally returning for the game against Brazil in November. Bentancur will be available for selection for manager Marcelo Bielsa for the Colombia match.
Nunez was also fined $20,000 and Bentancur $16,000. The Uruguayan FA was fined a total of $120,000.
Three more Uruguay players, Mathias Olivera (Napoli), Ronald Araujo (Barcelona) and Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), have all been banned for three matches.
Uruguay forward Darwin Núñez (19) engages with hostile fans in the stands after the CONMEBOL Copa America semifinal between Uruguay and Colombia
Image credit: Getty Images
Meanwhile, Santiago Mele, Matias Vina, Sebastian Caceres, Emiliano Martinez, Facundo Pellistri and Brian Rodriguez have all each been fined $5,000 but not banned.
At the time, Gimenez called the situation a total disaster, saying: “Colombian fans in a certain section descended on all our families. Our families were in danger.
“We had to rush into the stands to remove our loved ones with tiny newborn babies.
“It’s a total disaster. There wasn’t a single police officer. They showed up half an hour later. A disaster. And we were there, standing up for ourselves, for our loved ones.”
Bielsa was furious after the match in July, saying that his players reacted as would be natural.
“The only thing I can say is that the players reacted as any human being would have done,” he said.
“If they are attacking his wife, his mother, a baby, his wife, his sister … What do you do?
“Do you ask if they are going to sanction those who went to defend? There is a degree of complicity, because the questions also act in a complicit manner. You [the journalists] have to say this, not what I have to say.”
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Publish date : 2024-08-28 04:52:00
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