Nick Garcia has been fined $1000 for an "act of simulation" which contributed to getting Carlos Ruiz ejected from the KC-LA match. Ruiz will still serve out a one game suspension this Saturday. http://www.mlsnet.com/content/03/mls0530garcia.html What nonsense! Garcia should have been suspended 1 game, and Ruiz should have been reinstated for tomorrow's game. On the bright side, at least MLS fined Garcia for his Oscar-worthy performance.
The only joy for an LAG fan is that oafish Kevin Terry was the sucker that bit for Nick's play acting. Once more Kevin Terry has shown he can't call an LAG game without seeing things that aren't there.
I don't think Terry saw the play at all. The announcers said he consulted with the linesman before making the call. Save the diatribe for the linesman, not Terry. Glad MLS called Garcia on his Oscar-worthy performance, though I'm not sure what kind of precedent this sets.
A very good one. Imagine if this was proceedure in other leagues...The Italian federation would be rich...
I realize that I'm a bit biased, but are you all nuts? Firstly, MLS won't ever overturn a card or a suspenstion. They're never going to reinstate someone from a ban no matter what. Secondly,although Nick did dive, the fact is that Ruiz did attempt to strike. This attempt is all that is needed to send Ruiz off. he was not treated unjustly. Thirdly, how is it fair to fine someone four times as much as a red card fine, when the ultimate punishment for this act in a game is a yellow card? What ultimatly should have been done was to have had Ruiz sent off for the attempt to strike, and then give Nick a card for diving. Fourthly, when has Ruiz ever been finded for diving? he only does it 5-6 times a game. This is rediculous unfair treatment. Lastly, Ruiz should have been suspended for more than one game and fined more for not leaving the feild imeadiatly after teh card. He continued to argue, and had to be escorted off after a couple of minutes. Remember Azizi? This is intolerable behavior, no matter how much the player was/feels like they were wronged. Nick and Ruiz were battling all game, and Terry should have taken action earlier against Ruiz. He was spewing garbage in both nick and Terry's faces all night long.
Diego Serna says hi after playing in Game 3 of the 2001 playoff series between Miami and San Jose, after getting a red card in Game 2.
VW, I agree with you. Ruiz should be reinstated for tomorrow's game at Colorado. Those are the little things MLS should work on. I dirty guy like Garcia is proven guilty; however, he gets away with it. This could cause a game to the Galaxy. Both team are desperately looking for a win, but with Ruiz out Colorado has a mild advantage.
What he said, the laws of the game stipulate that attempting to strike is just as bad as striking. Remember Bobby Convey last year, with his round house swing at Ruiz? Sure Ruiz might have embellished that, but the intent by Convey was there. And that is just as punishable That being said, I'm glad to see Nick get fined for diving. On the field, diving is the number one problem that the game must deal with IMO. It seriously cheapens the integrity of the game.
Bill you might want to get your facts straigth before you get all sarcastic and bitchy. They didn't overturn his suspension, they commuted it to the begining of the 2002 season. Which they were wrong for doing. I don't care what the repurcutions are, if a player commits a red cardable offence, which Ruiz did, then he should have to sit the next game. he didn't get away with it, he was fined a grand. If Gracia is dirty, I hate to think of what Ruiz is. Actually, I do know. He's a cheat and a diver, and a diurty, dirty hack. He's the next coming of Diego Serna.
not that any one probably cares what i think, but i think MLS handled it perfectly. Ruiz should have been red carded, garcia did more than dive, so the fine is justified, they do this in hockey too. I like that fact taht since he was the first to get this punishment they only fined him, from now on everbyody knows embellishment like that leads to a fine and a suspension. kudos to MLS for trying to get this out of the american game.
No, they did not commute Serna's suspension. You're thinking of Manny Lagos who got a red card in what turned out to be the last regular season game of the 2001 season, before the 9/11 attacks, so the game that he would have been suspended for was cancelled and the original decision was that he would be suspended for game 1 of the playoffs. After much whining by San Jose fans such as myself, the league changed their mind and let him play in the playoffs, and he sat for the first regular season game of the 2002 season. Diego Serna received a red card in the playoffs and was never suspended for it. The story from the league office was that the referee and the assistant has a miscommunication while they were conferring -- after the ref gave Ibsen a red for kicking out at Serna, the assistant told the center ref that Serna should get a card for overreacting, and the center ref gave Serna a red when it should have been a yellow. The league then overturned the decision after the game was played, and this time, the subsequent whining by San Jose fans failed to get the league to change their minds and make Serna sit out a game. Serna played in Game 3 which was the last game of the season for him, as well as the 2002 season opener (for the Metrostars). On this, I am in complete agreement with you. Now that the league has set a precedent of $1000 for simulating a foul, Ruiz should lead the league in fines.
I don't guess I have a problem with Nick being fined, but it's the amount of it. $1 K? Could someone look up the biggest fines in MLS history and what they're for? (I believe #1 was Edwin Gorter for some racial slur during practice). I could see several hundred or even $500. But as Andy alluded to, this is more (IIRC) than what The DC legbreakers were fined. Something doesn't add up. However, I bet Kasey Keller would help Nick with his fine if he asked real nice.
Some recent game - I can't remember - saw someone get a red that was undeserved. Maybe it was the Joe-Max call. I read somewhere that the suspension is mandatory regardless of what happens after the fact. I think FIFA made this mandatory recently. Then again, I could be talking out my ass, but this sticks in my memory.
I think you're right. I think they were mad at England. I remember players continuing to play while "appealing" their suspensions in the EPL and FA Cup in years past. --- So, how much were Kovalenko and Stoitchkov fined for breaking legs?
Dema was a grand, Hristo was two grand. Slaps on the wrist for them and an excessive fine for Nick given the "crime."
http://www.fifa.com/en/display/mrel,44221.html Zürich, 1 October 2002 -As decided by the FIFA Executive Committee last week, a circular has been sent today to all 204 FIFA members reminding them that any player dismissed from the field of play is to be automatically suspended from the next match of the competition in which the player was dismissed. The disciplinary bodies of the relevant competitions may not breach this binding instruction by passing exceptional rules. The automatic one-match suspension may only be waived if it is proven that the referee dismissed the wrong player in a case of mistaken identity. In no case can the decision of the referee can be modified after the game ...
Agreed, this wasn't a leg breaking offense. Nick simulated, but it wasn't his simulation that drew the red. Even if Nick doesn't fall down, and the linesman see's Ruiz intentionally throw an elbow, he should get a red. Whether or not Ruiz connected on his attempt to injure, really is secondary. Think of an equivalent but more straighforward scenario. Nick and Ruiz are standing face to face, and Ruiz throws a punch at Nick's face. Nick is quick enough to duck the punch. Does Ruiz avoid the red card because he missed? No. He would get the red card he earned. Whether or not Nick ends up rolling on the ground 'simulating' is immaterial to Ruiz's red. Fine should be $250 max, unless they intend to REALLY start enforcing simulation violations.
To put it simply, this fine is pure shite. Kevin Terry lost control of this game sometime shortly after he blew the opening whistle. As an official, Kevin Terry sucks ass. Lest you think I'm totally biased, I believe that Garcia deserved a yellow early in the match. Ruiz deserved one later, and if either had been given, this is a non-event. For the league office to fine Garcia $1000 is absolutely out of line given the crime and earlier fines this season. I officially have no respect for the league office at this point.
"Attempt to injure"? Even a pantywaist like Garcia's not going to suffer an injury from an elbow to the shin.
Ruiz should have received a yellow card for the incident, not a red. Even had Ruiz connected, Garcia could have easily played on and would have at the worst suffered a sore leg and bruise. Red cards should be issued for fouls with the potential to cause injury, such as throwing an elbow or punch toward the head.
Even though it's not the popular opinion, I think Garcia got what he deserved. He didn't fake a foul, he faked an injury. He wasn't trying to get a free kick, he was hoping to get Ruiz ejected. It was very clear that Nick was baiting Ruiz all game long. I had this very same thing happen to my team in the high school championships. Current Metrostar Jacob LeBlanc pretended that my player elbowed him in the stomach. Ref didn't see it, but linesman decided that SOMETHING happened and since LaBlanc was rolling around in agony then my guy MUST have hit him. Sad to say, a tie game turned into a 3-1 loss thanks to his "simulation". Remember when we were all disgusted with Rivaldo's play acting in the World Cup?
Given the precedents from this season, you're full of shite. Ruiz deserved a red. Violent conduct is an immediate sending-off offense. Striking or attempting to strike an opponent seems like violent conduct to me. Garcia's dive is nothing in comparison to what multiple other forwards have done. Ruiz as one example, but several others exist. To decide, as a result of THIS incident, to begin fining simulation, is an absolute crock.