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MLS fines and suspends Magee, Stephens, Pajoy

Mike Magee (Getty Images)

As if things were not bad enough for the Los Angeles Galaxy, in comes word that two of their players have been suspended.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended and fined Galaxy midfielders Mike Magee and Michael Stephens undisclosed amounts for their actions in Los Angeles' 2-1 loss to the Houston Dynamo on May 26. Magee was punished for what the league termed 'aggravated dissent against the referee' in the 92nd minute of the match, while Stephens was punished for his challenge on Adam Moffat in the 46th.

The Galaxy duo were not the only ones to receive suspensions. Philadelphia Union forward Lionard Pajoy was also given a one-match ban and an undisclosed fine for his challenge on Toronto FC forward Joao Plata. The incident came in 29th minute of Toronto's 1-0 win over Philadelphia on May 26.

What do you think of these suspensions? Agree with them? Wondering who came up with the term aggravated dissent?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. There was quite a bit of disagreement on the field – many of the Dynamo were calling for a red. Maybe it wasn’t shown on TV, but it was clear at the game. Stephens foul was a clear red and the committee made the correct call.

    The ref was horrible (both ways) and should also be disciplined.

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  2. I am admittedly a Union fan (only reason I watched that ugly game)… and 1) I replayed the ref blowing the whistle several times. 2) the foul on Marfan was viscous; the announcer as well said it should have been a red when announcing the game 3) I found the Pajoy foul: http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2012-05-26-tor-v-phi/highlights?videoID=187125 what do you think? 4) Adu red card received a ton of discussion on this site and was the subject of much debate, and the point is I’m wondering if the committee even reviews many of these calls. Besides I was asking for clarification not disputing the call.

    Watch the game once before chiming in!

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  3. Must be a Union fan, selective memory and all. Go back and watch all three of those incidents without any attention to the color of jersey, and see what you think then.

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  4. Klinsman was right on the money with his assessment and it needed to be said. Strongly. I’ve seen quotes from players that said as much.

    If you truly think the grit he’s calling for entails his players kicking the ball at the ref…. I don’t know what to tell you without straight up name calling. I was a hopeful skeptic when he was first hired… didn’t and still do not expect miracles and instant transformations. Going from mediocrity to excellence takes time, ups and downs, but mostly hard work and a change of mindset. My hopes have grown stronger as we have moved along. I’m every bit as encouraged if not even more so by Klinsman after Brazil as I was after the Scotland match.

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  5. No problem with the Magee one, but Stephens? It was a hard challenge and recieved a deserved yellow in the game. Nobody seemed to disagree on the field, no reason to fine and suspend him. Its not like this was a two footed malicious tackle from behind. Just a player giving his all to win a ball.

    MLS pays a lot of these guys peanuts, taking the salt away from those peanuts is not a good move.

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  6. I’m a Galaxy supporter and I agree that if Beckham rather than Stephens had committed the foul we would probably not see any action taken. Discipline always depends upon consistency.

    If the committee decides that the player should be suspended and the referee did not make the call, there should be some sort of consequence for the referee, perhaps part of their evaluation. I also think that it should affect the referee’s evaluation when they make a call that clearly wasn’t warranted.

    I don’t have a problem with holding the players accountable if you also hold the referees accountable. The players are far ahead of the officials in quality at the moment. Many of these problems would be less frequent with better officiating.

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  7. Did you see the comments Klinsmann made as to why Brek Shea wasn’t called in to camp? Days after Shea was suspended for kicking the ball at a ref? How come he didn’t reward Shea for being a dbag omg Klisy is such a hypocrite!

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  8. I don’t remember the Pajoy incident so can’t comment on it, but what I do remember is a violent 2-footed challenge on Michael Farfan near the end of the game that should have been an easy red card. Marfan flipped over as if someone stuck a broomstick in his bicycle spokes. No foul called.

    I also remember a foul in the first half called on Valdez for getting a foot near the opponents head, the ref clearly blew his whistle but then signaled play-on as Toronto kept breaking to goal.

    Horrible officiating.

    I’m all for going back in time to make things more fair, but let’s not add more inconsistency in doing it. And please, please, please MLS review the performance of the refs.

    Also, was there ever a post-hoc analysis by the discipline committee on the Adu red card “dive” from the NYRB game? I thought under the rules there had to be a consensus in order to proceed with a game suspension. I wish they would’ve at least issue a statement on that card in order to clarify their stance on these matters.

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  9. This was a long time coming for Magee. He’s a dirty player and the biggest crybaby in MLS not named Beckham. He treats all opponents and refs alike like they are pure garbage. A true butthole.

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  10. Excellent.

    Magee is a whiny little…. and he deserves this. That entire team is little more than cheap shots, whining and entitlement at this point.

    Sadly the only player really giving it their all is also one of their most notorious cheapshot players: Beckham.

    Reply

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