MLS issued their own additional punishments for the post-Leagues Cup final melee on Monday: Luis Suarez has been suspended for three league games and Seattle Sounders mental-skills coach Steven Lenhart has had his gameday credentials revoked for the rest of the season. The Sounders have also been fined an undisclosed amount for “misappropriation of credentials,” presumably connected to Lenhart’s involvement in the melee.
In Lenhart’s case, the league is taking the position that he had no business being on the field, let alone involving himself in the melee. As a result, he won’t be allowed on or near the sidelines, in the locker room or in the tunnel.
Patrick Sheehan
Banning Suarez from league play was seemingly the minimum that MLS could do in order to look as if they took the entire incident seriously. It was Suarez chasing down, stepping on and then spitting on Sounders head of security Gene Ramirez that made this into a story that got international headlines. He will miss a road game against Charlotte FC (Sept. 13), the home game against the Sounders (Sept. 16) and a home game against D.C. United (Sept. 20).
Seemingly, the most glaring omission from the league’s punishment is Sergio Busquets, who punched Obed Vargas at the start of the melee. But he was also one of a handful of players from both teams who were engaging in extra-curricular activities, even if Miami seemed to be the physical instigator in most of them.
Effectively, the league seems to be taking the position that only Suarez and Lenhart did anything that warranted punishment beyond what the Leagues Cup Disciplinary Committee handed down. Suarez was suspended six games in that tournament, Tomás Aviles was suspended three games, Busquets was suspended two games and Lenhart was suspended five games.
