Luis Suarez sends message to Darwin Nunez after Liverpool forward banned for five matches
Luis Suarez urged fellow Uruguayan Darwin Nunez to show his mental strength and bounce back after being handed a five-match international ban.
Following Colombia's 1-0 victory over Uruguay in the Copa America semi-finals during the summer, several Uruguay players, including Nunez, entered the stands and became embroiled in a brawl with some Colombia supporters as tensions rose on the stands, with some of the Uruguay players' families being lifted onto the pitch for their safety.
A video emerged of Nunez throwing a chair into the crowd during the fracas, and he has since been hit with a five-match ban and fined $20,000.
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Suarez revealed that he had offered his support to the Liverpool striker, saying: "I already spoke with Darwin when he was sanctioned in England. Sometimes people enjoy it more when you are on the ground and fall, but people feel more pain when you get back up.
"And that is what he has to do: get up and continue to show the kind of player he is. That is where you see the great players and the mental strength he has to have to show those people that they like to see him on the ground."
Meanwhile, Nunez had a message of his own for Suarez after the former Barcelona striker confirmed his retirement from international football.
Suarez scored 69 goals in 143 appearances for Uruguay and made his last appearance for his country in a 0-0 draw with Paraguay in World Cup qualifying on Friday.
“Thank you from the heart for everything you did for me in the national team, you were my idol without knowing you and you are even more so now that I know you," Nunez wrote on Instagram. “As you said, you came as a child and leave as a legend, it’s everyone's dream and you fulfilled it.”