MLS commissioner Don Garber said before the season that the league's disciplinary committee would take a hard line on excessive challenges and instances of embellishment, and the first instance of that more rigid stance has been put in motion.
The league has suspended and fined Houston Dynamo midfielder Adam Moffat for a harsh challenge and fined Seattle Sounders midfielder Alvaro Fernandez for embellishing contact in their matchup a week ago.
Moffat's tackle on Osvaldo Alonso has drawn a one-game suspension and an undisclosed fine. The sliding, studs-up challenge "endangered the safety of his opponent," according to a league statement. He'll miss Houston's next match, which is not until April 15, and becomes the second Dynamo player suspended this week after Colin Clark was dealt a three-game suspension for his anti-gay slur directed at a Sounders ball boy.
Houston's coaches and players, meanwhile, appeared to be livid at repeated instances of embellishment by Fernandez throughout their match, and MLS blew the whistle on the Uruguayan Designated Player, fining him an undisclosed amount for an instance that happened in the 82nd minute of the match. Fernandez was not carded for his act, but he did receive a yellow in the moments following his offense after pushing and jawing with Dynamo players before a free kick.
Video of Moffat's challenge is after the jump:
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Do you think Moffat's challenge warranted a suspension? Did you think Fernandez deserved to be punished as well?
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