D.C. United forward Jose Ortiz suspended for costly dive in Vancouver

TORONTO – It will be of small comfort to the Vancouver Whitecaps but MLS has fined and suspended D.C. United forward Jose Ortiz one game for simulation/embellishment.

The simulation, which saw Ortiz tumble without contact in the penalty box after going past defender Kendall Waston, earned D.C. United a penalty which Lamar Neagle hammered home for a 1-0 win Saturday.

“Awful,” Vancouver coach Carl Robinson said after the game. “It’s an awful call and it’s had a major impact in the game. Usually I don’t say or criticize things that officials do as they have a hard enough job, but this official seems to cost us a lot.”

Referee Sorin Stoica awarded Vancouver a penalty kick in stoppage time but Cristian Techera could not convert.

Both Vancouver and D.C. United were given warnings by the league after being found in violation of the league’s mass confrontation policy in stoppage time.

Ortiz, a 24-year-old from Costa Rica, was fined after being found guilty of the same offence in a May 20 game against the Chicago Fire.