Luis Suarez appeared to spit on an opposing team’s staff member, while Sergio Busquets punched an opposing player in a postgame scuffle, following Inter Miami’s 3-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the 2025 Leagues Cup final on Sunday, Aug. 31.
Suarez, 38, aggressively put his left arm around the back of the neck of 20-year-old Seattle Sounders player Obed Vargas after the final whistle was blown.
Seattle defender Yéimar Gomez Andrade, 33, helped disengage Suarez from Vargas, who began celebrating the Leagues Cup victory with 21-year-old teammate Cody Baker in front of him before Busquets, 37, landed a punch on Vargas’s chin.
Vargas flopped onto the pitch as Baker engaged in a heated exchange with Busquets after the punch.
Inter Miami defenders Marcelo Weigandt (25 years old) and Tomás Avilés (21 years old) — who did not play in the final — also appeared to physically engage with Seattle defender Jackson Ragen, 26, during the scuffle.
The brief, but ugly sequence following the match ended with Suarez appearing to bump and spit on a Seattle staff member. USA TODAY Sports reached out to Seattle and Leagues Cup officials to identify the person, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
“Unfortunately, that is going to take some of the attention away from what was a great Sounder performance,” longtime Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said of the incident during his press conference after the match.
“So, I can take that as a compliment, that their players were frustrated, and frustrations led to some things that shouldn’t happen on the field, but that shouldn’t be the story. I’m going to shut that down.”
Tensions were tempered as both clubs remained on the pitch for the postgame trophy celebration.
Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said he was far from the incident during his postgame interview.
“Clearly, none of us like to see this kind of behavior at the end of the game. Also, when there’s a reaction, it could be that there was provocation. But I’m not going to comment because I don’t know what happened,” Mascherano said after the loss.
Schmetzer was complimentary of Inter Miami after the match, saying he had a quiet moment with star Lionel Messi on the pitch.
“I said ‘Lo siento’ (I’m sorry), and we talked, and we tried to push it aside,” Schmetzer said of his interaction with Messi.
Schmetzer also said Inter Miami co-owner Sir David Beckham waited in the tunnel after the match to shake the hands of the Seattle players. They also shared a conversation before the match.
“That is class through and through,” Schmetzer said of Beckham.
Schmetzer also praised Mascherano and Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas after his conversations with them before the final.
“Those are people that have been at the highest levels of our sport giving our team compliments, and that’s the story,” Schmetzer said. “That’s the story.”
Osaze De Rosario (26’), Álex Roldán (84’) and Seattle native Paul Rothrock (89’) scored for the Sounders in the victory over Messi and Inter Miami.
Both clubs will meet again during an MLS regular-season match at Inter Miami on Sept. 16.