Uruguay’s early exit stirs Suarez anger

Uruguay entered the Copa America as one of the favourites to emerge from Group C. But after a 1-0 loss to Venezuela last Thursday, Uruguay’s run is over in the group stages, a situation that exposed how Luis Suarez was still struggling with his anger management.

 

Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani had a golden opportunity to draw level in the 90th minute, but he somehow missed the net. Given the situation and player, this miss was shocking. The PSG striker made an excellent move into the penalty area and had a clear look at goal.

All Cavani had to do was get his shot on target as goalkeeper Jose Contreras had no chance, but failed to rightly nail the ball in and ended Uruguay’s hope of a Copa America dream, sparking off an angry reaction from Suarez on the bench.

Suárez, who had missed the first game through injury, lost his temper and threw one of his boots on to the pitch after he was told he would not play a part in the game. Suárez had been seen warming up on the sidelines in the second-half despite not being named as a substitute or in the starting eleven.

“There is no situation. The situation is what I told you [on Wednesday]. The player is not ready to play,” said the Uruguay coach, Óscar Tabárez. “This is an issue about numbers and doctors. Even if the player is upset, I’m not going to play a player who is not 100 per cent. If he got upset, that is something I was not aware of. He didn’t tell me anything.”

Suárez was involved in another fit of temper at the 2014 World Cup, when he bit the Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. The striker was banned from football for four months over the incident.

For Venezuela, it was a first win in nine Copa América meetings with Uruguay while Rondon became the first player from the country to score at three tournaments. Venezuela now have six points as Mexico.