A slap on the wrist.
How else to view the "reprimand" that Costa Rican forward Joel Campbell received for his act of simulation which drew a costly yellow card for Sporting Kansas City's Matt Besler during the Costa Rica vs. USA World Cup qualifier on September 6? (Watch the incident above at the 5:38 mark.)
The caution triggered a suspension for Besler for the massive USA-Mexico clash, which would subsequently result in a World Cup berth for the USMNT.
"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has sanctioned the player Joel Campbell of Costa Rica with a reprimand for breaching art. 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), also taking into account art. 108 par. 1 and art. 96 par. 1 of the FDC," a FIFA spokesperson told MLSsoccer.com via e-mail.
Article 57 of the Disciplinary Code (read it here) addresses actions by a player "who violates the principles of fair play or whose behaviour is otherwise unsporting."
The Costa Rican soccer federation was hit a little more hard than Campbell was for other issues during that match, which the Ticos won 3-1. It was fined a little more than $11,000 due to "several incidents that were reported by the match officials," according to another statement sent to MLSsoccer.com by FIFA.
Reports in Costa Rica claim that the incidents included disrespecting the US national anthem, issues with the reading of the Fair Play messages by the team captains before kick off, as well as the use of lasers by fans.
"The Costa Rican Football Federation has been fined CHF 10,000 [Swiss francs] and warned as to its future conduct for breach of art. 65 and 67 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code," read the e-mail from the FIFA media department.
