This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Real Salt Lake's Olmes Garcia was punished on the field with a yellow card for wasting time late in Wednesday night's 1-1 draw against the New York Red Bulls.
As it turns out, the striker's flop to the ground wasn't entirely unprovoked and now Major League Soccer has handed down a much greater punishment to the other man involved in the incident.
On Friday, the league's disciplinary committee handed down a two-game suspension to New York defender Jamison Olave for what the committee termed "violent conduct" against an opponent. What that actually means: during a brief confrontation in the 77th minute, Olave, a former RSL man, subtly reached down and hit Garcia below the belt.
The Salt Lake forward responded by shoving Olave immediately after being hit and then fell quickly to the grass, rolling over several times on the field.
Players from both teams reacted. And Real midfielder Javier Morales and New York midfielder Tim Cahill each received undisclosed fines on Friday for grabbing each other around the neck in the moments after Garcia fell.
Olave will miss games against the Chicago Fire and the Montreal Impact.
Garcia, meanwhile, is now two cards away from a suspension himself.
Gil called up for national U-23 team
Midfielder Luis Gil has seen his minutes somewhat limited this year at RSL.
But he's still a key piece in the country's bid to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
As such, Gil will join the United States Under-23 team next week in the Bahamas for a five-day training camp. The training camp will feature a match against the Bahamas national team.
Gil is one of eight Major League Soccer players to receive the call-up.
He is not expected to miss any games for his club.
Game on for USL club exhibition
Real Salt Lake added to its schedule this week, announcing an exhibition game with Sacramento Republic FC, of the United Soccer League's pro level. RSL will host the first-year USL club on Sept. 30 at Rio Tinto Stadium.