Major League Soccer’s disciplinary committee made few retroactive punishments on Tuesday for infractions during D.C. United’s 4-1 win over FC Dallas on Friday, suspending D.C. United’s Brandon McDonald one game and handing out a fine to midfielder Danny Cruz.
McDonald was punished for a tackle from behind on Blas Perez in the 20th minute, earning a yellow card at the time. He’ll have to miss Saturday’s game against the Seattle Sounders, which explains why he was playing with United’s second team in training on Tuesday while Dejan Jakovic partnered with Emiliano Dudar in the center of the defense for the first team.
The decision on Cruz’s infraction was more interesting, as he was fined an undisclosed amount “for his act of embellishment which brought the game into disrepute,” according to the league’s release, after faking the taking of an elbow to the face as he battled with Dallas defender Jair Benitez for a ball in the corner midway in the 71st minute. Of course, Cruz took a number of elbows to the midsection from Benitez, who MLS decided to suspend one game for his actions.
The video for the Cruz/Benitez incident is HERE. The video for McDonald’s tackle is HERE.
