Darwin Nunez: Liverpool striker banned for five matches in Uruguay after being involved in post-Copa America brawl

Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez is one of 11 players banned by CONMEBOL following 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 while violence broke out in the area of ​​the stadium where the players’ families were sitting.

Nunez was given the strictest ban of five matches, while his international teammate and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was banned for four matches.

This means Nunez will miss matches against Paraguay, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia before finally returning for the match against Brazil in November. Bentancur will be available to coach Marcelo Bielsa for the game against Colombia.

Nunez was also fined $20,000 and Bentancur $16,000. The Uruguayan Football Federation was fined a total of $120,000.

Three other Uruguayan players – Mathias Olivera (Naples), Ronald Araujo (Barcelona) and Jose Maria Gimenez (Atletico Madrid) – were banned for three matches.

Meanwhile, Santiago Mele, Matias Vina, Sebastian Caceres, Emiliano Martinez, Facundo Pellistri and Brian Rodriguez were each fined $5,000 but not suspended.

Gimenez described the situation at the time as a total disaster and said: “Colombian fans in a certain area attacked our families. Our families were in danger.”

“We had to rush to the stands to get our loved ones out with the tiny newborns.

“It’s a total disaster. There wasn’t a single police officer there. They only arrived half an hour later. A disaster. And we were there and stood up for ourselves and our loved ones.”

Bielsa was angry after the game in July and said his players had reacted naturally.

“The only thing I can say is that the players reacted the way any human being would have,” he said.

“If they attack his wife, his mother, a baby, his wife, his sister… What do you do?

“Are you asking if they will punish those who have gone to defend themselves? There is a certain degree of complicity, because the questions also seem complicit. They [the journalists] must say this, not what I have to say.”