Darwin Nunez handed five-match ban following brawl
- Darwin Nunez banned from playing in Uruguay's next five games
- Suspension handed down from CONMEBOL over Copa America brawl
- 11 players fined and/or banned from at least three matches
Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez has been slapped with a five-match international suspension for his role in a brawl between Uruguay players and Colombia fans at the Copa America.
Uruguay players said that Colombia supporters had been harassing their families during the semi-final clash in July and proceeded to enter the stands to confront the alleged perpetrators after violence reportedly broke out in that section of the stadium.
Six weeks on, CONMEBOL's disciplinary commission has fined the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) a sum of $20,000 (£15,130), as well issuing fines and/or suspensions for 11 players. AUF official Marcelo Garcia has also been given a six-month stadium ban from all CONMEBOL competitions.
Banned from playing in his country’s next five games, Nunez has been hit with the most severe suspension. He will miss upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. He is eligible to return against Brazil on 16 November.
Nunez has also been fined $20,000, again the most severe of all the fines applied. The Liverpool player will not have to pay the amount out of his own pocket, rather it will be automatically deducted from the amount the AUF was supposed to receive in prize and broadcast money.
Tottenham Hotspur's Rodrigo Bentancur has been banned for four games and fined $16,000 (£12,100), while there are three game bans and $12,000 (£9,080) fines for Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo and Atletico Madrid's Jose Gimenez, as well as Mathias Olivera.
Sebastian Caceres, Matias Vina, Emiliano Martinez, Brian Rodriguez, Santiago Mele and Facundo Pellistri, who recently left Manchester United for Panathinaikos in a permanent transfer, have been fined $5,000 (£3,780) but haven't been suspended.
All have the right to appeal the decisions within seven days, but it comes with a $3,000 (£2,270) fee.
Uruguay have made a strong start to the marathon that is South America's World Cup qualifying through the opening six rounds of fixtures, second in the standings behind only Argentina and eight points clear of the cutoff point. But losing a number of players for at least three games is a big blow.
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