Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez celebrated directly in the face of former Everton defender Yerry Mina during Uruguay’s win against Colombia on Friday evening.
In a thrilling game in Montevideo, Andres Gomez thought he had snatched a point for Colombia with a goal in the sixth minute of extra time to make it 2-2.
However, Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte popped up in the 11th minute of injury time with a dramatic late winner to secure a 3-2 victory for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
Nunez had clashed with Mina, who came on as a late substitute in injury time, before Uruguay’s winning goal.
However, after Ugarte struck to make it 3-2 to Uruguay, Nunez immediately turned and celebrated wildly in front of Mina before joining his teammates.
‘I’m happy to see the fans in the stands celebrating, it’s a goal that I’ll remember forever,’ Ugarte said after his goal.
‘I’m not one to score a lot of goals. The match was nice, I think we deserved to win and sometimes it’s nice to win a match like that.
‘I thought about my parents, about my niece who was born a month ago. It was beautiful to see the crowd celebrating like that.’
The win has put Uruguay second in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table, three points behind leaders Argentina and level with Colombia who drop to third.
Mina, meanwhile, is facing a potential suspension for pushing a cameraman on the pitch in the aftermath of Colombia’s defeat.
In September, Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez was handed a two game ban after he slapped a camera during Argentina’s defeat to Colombia.
If banned, Mina would be absent for Colombia’s World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Paraguay.
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