Liverpool star Darwin Nunez banned for five games after fighting fans
Darwin Nunez has been banned for five games
PA
Liverpool star Darwin Nunez has been handed a five-match international ban after clashing with fans during the Copa America.
Chaotic scenes followed Uruguay's exit from the Copa America after a 1-0 defeat in the semi-final to Colombia at the Bank of America Stadium in North Carolina over the summer.
Several Uruguay players jumped into the crowd after an incident broke out in a section of the stadium where many of their family were seated.
Astonishing footage saw Nunez climb up over the railings and make his way into the crowd.
Darwin Nunez has been banned for five games
PA
He was not alone with several of his team-mates joining him including Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur, Napoli's Mathias Olivera, Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo and Atletico Madrid ace Jose Maria Gimenez.
However, Nunez has been handed the heaviest punishment and been slapped with a five-match ban for international matches by Conmebol.
The striker has also been fined £15,145 ($20,000).
Bentancur was handed a four-game ban while Olivera, Araujo and Gimenez were all given three-game bans.
Gimenez was furious in the aftermath of the match when speaking to reporters, saying: "There was no police and we had to defend our families.
"This is the fault of two or three people who had a few too many drinks and don't know how to drink."
Nevertheless, Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa has been left hamstrung by the bans with several of his key players now missing.
The South American nation have several qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup coming up over September and October.
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Darwin Nunez jumped into the crowd and had an altercation with the fans
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At the time, the former Leeds boss said Colombia owed Uruguay an apology.
"How can you not defend your mother, your sister, a baby?" Bielsa said in July.
"If they did not do it, they would have been condemned by all of us."
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Darwin Nunez has been handed a five-match international ban as a result
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When asked if he feared sanctions against his players, Bielsa replied: "The sanction does not have to be for the footballers, but for those who forced them to act like this.
"This is a witch hunt. It is a shame."
Uruguay are next in action on September 6 when they face Paraguay in Montevideo in a qualifying match.
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