The MLS Disciplinary Committee on Friday suspended and fined Montreal Impact players Marco Di Vaio and Andrés Romero for violent conduct which endangered the safety of their respective opponents during Thursday's MLS Cup Playoff Eastern Conference Knockout Round game against the Houston Dynamo.
Along with his automatic one-game suspension, Di Vaio is suspended two additional games and fined an extra $1,000. He will begin serving the suspension with the first regular-season game of the 2014 season.
Romero, who also received a red card and an automatic one-game suspension for committing an act of violent conduct against his opponent, is suspended an additional two games and fined an additional $250. He also will begin serving the suspension with the first regular-season game of the 2014 season.
Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear is suspended for leaving his technical area and entering the field of play during the 89th minute of the playoff game against the Impact, which per league policy results in an automatic one-game suspension. Kinnear will not be permitted on the sideline or in the locker room while serving his suspension during the Dynamo’s game on Sunday against the New York Red Bulls (3:30 pm ET, NBC).
The committee also determined that the Houston Dynamo and Montreal Impact each violated the league’s mass confrontation policy. After repeated mass-confrontation violations in 2013, the Impact organization is fined $25,000 and head coach Marco Schällibaum is fined $2,500.
The Dynamo organization is fined $5,000, the first time the club has been fined for mass confrontation in 2013.
