Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez will serve the remainder of his ban, having been involved in an altercation with fans while on duty with Uruguay, Afrosport reports.
This follows a failed appeal by Nunez, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordering the 25-year-old to carry on with the ban.
The former Benfica forward, in August 2024, was handed a five-match international ban by CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body. He was also fined $20,000 for his part in a confrontation with fans after Uruguay lost 1-0 to Colombia in the Copa America semi-final in July 2024.
Nunez missed two matches as part of the ban before CAS temporarily lifted the suspension in October 2024 as the case against him was under investigation following an appeal by the Uruguay Football Association.
CONMEBOL also handed suspensions and fines to four other Uruguay players, with Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur handed a four-game ban and $16,000 fine, while the trio of Napoli defender Mathias Olivera, Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo, and Atletico Madrid defender Jose Maria Gimenez all received three-game bans and a fine of $12,000 each.
All four other Uruguay players, however, have served their suspensions for their part in the incident at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, USA.
Meanwhile, CAS dismissed the appeal by the Uruguay FA, who were looking to nullify or reduce the suspensions and fine, having claimed that the players acted in self-defence.
“The panel found that in this case the principle of self-defence does not apply,” CAS said in a statement.
“The conduct of the players constituted a voluntary, violent and unjustified action which was in violation of the Conmebol disciplinary code.”
This means Núñez will miss Uruguay’s World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (6 June) and Venezuela (11 June), as well as their home game against Peru in September.
