English Premier League club Liverpool is planning to hold “urgent talks” with striker Darwin Núñez and the Uruguayan Football Federation (UFF) following an ugly scene after Uruguay’s Copa America semifinals loss to Colombia on Wednesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Núñez was among the Uruguayan players who entered the stands following the match and exchanged blows with supporters of Colombia in a scene that was reminiscent of the NBA’s darkest moment, the Malice at the Palace.
Now, the Premier League team wants to sit down with Núñez to ascertain what transpired at Bank of America Stadium, ESPN reported Thursday.
Liverpool is waiting for the timing to line up due to the time difference between the United States and the U.K., and they want to check on his and his family’s well-being while getting down to understanding what took place following the continuous match, according to the report.
Liverpool, which will play three friendlies in the United States in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Columbia, South Carolina, has not made any public comments about the altercation that transpired in the Copa America semifinal and won’t do so until they speak with the UFF.
Núñez is facing the possibility of a significant suspension from CONMEBOL, soccer’s governing body in South America and the group that organizes Copa, and if one gets handed down, FIFA could enact a penalty of its own that would impact Núñez’s club team.
Due to Copa America, Núñez wasn’t expected to participate in Liverpool’s summer tour.
CONMEBOL has launched an investigation into what happened on Wednesday night, calling the events “unacceptable” and warned that “no action will be tolerated that tarnishes this global football celebration.”
The investigation is meant to “understand the sequence of events” that led to the altercation between players and fans.
Núñez was among the first Uruguayan players to jump into the stands in a section that was where family and friends of the Uruguay team were sitting.
Uruguay captain José Giménez told TUDN that players had gone into the stands to protect their families.
“This is a disaster. Our family is in danger. We had to get into the stands to take out our loved ones with small babies, newborns,” he said. “Everything was a disaster. There was not a single police officer.”
Roughly 100 Uruguayan fans and members of the federation staff stayed on the field for over 20 minutes for their own safety while Colombia fans exited the stadium, the Associated Press reported.