Poll
Who is this season's biggest surprise so far?
  • K. Cooper (FCD)
  • K. Deuchar (RSL)
  • L. Donovan (LAG)
  • R. Rogers (CLB)
  • Other
l Discipline

Updated: May 12, 2008

 Suspensions/Fine

Roger Espinoza
Kansas City Wizards
Suspension/Fine: 5/17/08 vs. NY, $250
Red Card: 5/3/08 vs. CLB

Tom McManus
Colorado Rapids
Suspension/Fine: 5/15/08 vs. RSL, $250
Red Card: 5/10/08 vs. HOU

Gary Smith
Colorado Rapids
Suspension/Fine: 5/15/08 vs. RSL, $500
Discipline Committee Decision: Dismissal

 Card Suspensions

Red card and caution point accumulation suspensions collected in Regular Season Games shall be served in a Player's next Regular Season Game. Any suspensions for yellow card points earned in a Player's last Regular Season Game will not carry over into the Playoffs, or into the next League Season.

However, the applicable fine will be collected in the current Season. Any Players who receives a red card in his last Game of the Season (Regular Season or Playoffs), will serve the one Game suspension during their next Game (whether it's during the Playoffs, Championship Game, or in the next Regular Season Game of the following season). All red card and caution point suspensions will, if necessary, follow a Player to a new Team. All fines associated with cautions or send-offs will be collected in the current season (before the calendar year expires).

 Suspension Carry-Overs

Any suspensions for yellow cards earned in a player's last Regular Season Game shall not carry over into the Playoffs or into the next League Season. However, the applicable fine will be collected in the current Season. Players who receive a red card in their last Game of the Season (Regular Season, Playoff or Cup) shall serve the one-game suspension during their next Game (whether it is during the Playoffs, Championship Game, or the next League Regular Season Game). All red card suspensions will, if necessary, follow a Player to a new team for the next League Season.

 The following players are one caution from suspension

Player -- Team -- Number of Cautions -- Good Behavior Incentive
NONE

 The following players are two cautions from suspension

Player -- Team -- Number of Cautions
Maykel Galindo -- Chivas USA -- 3
Shavar Thomas -- Chivas USA -- 3
Frankie Hejduk -- Columbus Crew -- 3
Rod Dyachenko -- DC United -- 3
Bobby Boswell -- Houston Dynamo -- 3
Ricardo Clark -- Houston Dynamo -- 3
Greg Vanney -- Los Angeles Galaxy -- 3
Brandon McDonald -- Los Angeles Galaxy -- 3
Amaechi Igwe -- New England Revolution -- 3
Sinisa Ubiparipovic -- New York Red Bulls -- 3

Regular Season Caution Accumulation
A player who accumulates five (5) yellow cards over the course of the MLS Regular Season shall be suspended from the next Regular Season game in which he is eligible to appear and fined $250. After imposition of the first fine and one-game suspension for accumulating five (5) yellow cards over the course of an MLS Regular Season, a player who accumulates an additional three (3) yellow cards shall be suspended from the next regular season game in which he is eligible to appear and fined $500. After the imposition of the second fine and one-game suspension by virtue of accumulating eight (8) yellow cards over the course of a regular season, that player shall be suspended for one MLS Regular Season game and fined $750 for each accumulation of three (3) yellow cards awarded to him in any remaining MLS Regular Season games.

Good Behavior Incentive
If a player receives a caution during the Regular Season that brings him within one caution of any of the suspension thresholds (e.g., 4 cautions, 7 cautions), he shall be placed on "Warning." If a player is placed on "Warning" and appears in THREE (3) consecutive games without receiving a caution, being sent off or sanctioned by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for an infraction that occurs during one of the THREE (3) consecutive games, that player's personal caution total shall be reduced by ONE (1) caution. A player may only benefit from the Good Behavior Incentive one time per season.

 Notice of Fine

5 Cautions: None

8 Cautions: None

 Cautions for dissent

Tom McManus & Ugo Themelu, Colorado Rapids ($100)

 Cautions for lack of respect for the game

Dema Kovalenko, Real Salt Lake ($200)

*MLS teams are assessed a matching team fine for their players' cumulative individual fines for yellow cards issued for either "dissent" or "showing a lack of respect for the game."

League Fair Play Table

rankteamgpyellowredfoulsclean gppts gptotal pts
1Toronto FC661562 5.3 32.0
2New England Revolution882903 6.5 52.0
3FC Dallas780751 7.8 54.5
4Chicago Fire7100721 8.7 61.0
5Columbus Crew7130802 8.9 62.0
5D.C. United7120882 8.9 62.0
7New York Red Bulls681781 11.0 66.0
8San Jose Earthquakes6100680 12.3 74.0
9Colorado Rapids7112932 11.5 80.5
10Kansas City Wizards7101800 12.9 90.0
11Real Salt Lake71201000 14.0 98.0
12Houston Dynamo71401090 15.8 110.5
13Los Angeles Galaxy7151830 15.9 111.5
14Chivas USA71631190 21.9 153.5

MLS Teams are assessed fair play points and ranked in the fair play table as follows:

  • 4 points for each caution point received (e.g. 5 cautions = 20 points)
  • 10 points for each red card earned (e.g. 5 red cards in a year = 50 points)
  • .5 points for each foul committed (e.g. 400 fouls = 200 points)
  • A reduction of 15 points for every game played by a team without their receiving either a yellow or red card, or a member of their team being a recipient of MLS Disciplinary Committee action in conjunction with that game (e.g. 3 "clean" games = -45 points).

The team with the least amount of points at the end of the regular season will be awarded the Kraft Team Fair Play Award.

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