Xavier and O'Brien Receive Additional Fines, Suspension

The fireworks that erupted in the second half of Colorado’s 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night have resulted in additional fines for Galaxy defender Abel Xavier and a fine and suspension for Colorado rookie Ciaran O’Brien.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee fined Xavier a total of $1,600 to go along with the red card he received in the 89^th minute of the match. The total is broken down in increments, as $750 was for excessive dissent and $250 for failure to leave field following the red card. In addition, he was fined $250 for his public criticism of officiating in the locker room after the match. These fines were combined with the automatic $250 fine for the red card and $100 fine for a yellow card received earlier in the game.

Xavier will now miss Los Angeles’ home opener against the San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday night at the Home Depot Center.

O’Brien, playing in his first MLS match, was red carded in the 90^th minute of the match for a dangerous tackle on Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz. The foul injured Ruiz, who is expected to be out for the rest of the month, and started a small battle between the teams after Landon Donovan came to Ruiz’s aid by grabbing O’Brien immediately after the hard foul. The Rapids’ top selection from January’s MLS SuperDraft will now miss two games and fined an additional $250 for his actions.