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Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham of England shoots on a free kick
against the New York Red Bulls' during the first half of their Major League
Soccer game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, July 16, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
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LOS ANGELES, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Los Angeles Galaxy
midfielder David Beckham has been fined 1,000 U.S. dollars by Major League
Soccer (MLS) Commissioner Don Garber for his interaction with a fan at halftime
of last Sunday's exhibition game against AC Milan.
"We support our players interacting with fans,
whether it is at clinics, charity events or by high-fiving their supporters in
the stands while celebrating a goal," Garber said. "However, our players should
never engage in conduct that can be interpreted as encouraging fans to come out
of the stands and onto the field, regardless of the reason."
Following the end of the first half, Beckham
approached the portion of the stands where members of the L.A. Riot Squad, the
team's most hardcore fans, sit, and gestured to a fan to come to him.
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Los Angeles Galaxy soccer player David Beckham (R) attends a press conference with
his coach Bruce Arena (L) in Hoboken, New Jersey, July 15, 2009.
Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
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The fan, identified by Dominguez Hills officials as
Joshua Paige of California State University, came out of the stands toward
Beckham and was cited for trespassing, according to an officer from the
university's police department, which provided security for the game.
"The fans were absolutely saying certain things that
shouldn't be said to anybody," Beckham said after playing in Southern California
for the first time in 2009.
"I walked over after the whistle and said, 'You need
to calm down and try to support the team.' One of them jumped over and I thought
it was to shake my hand, but maybe not."
Several fans told The San Diego Union-Tribune that
Beckham gestured toward the fan and said "Come down here," followed by an
expletive.
Coach-general manager Bruce Arena said later the team
regretted the incident and that the L.A. Riot Squad has issued a lifetime ban to
Paige.
Some Galaxy fans were upset that Beckham orchestrated
an extension of his loan agreement to AC Milan from March through the May 31 end
of the Series A season, causing him to miss the Galaxy's first 17 games of the
30- game Major League Soccer season.
Boos clearly outnumbered cheers when Beckham was
introduced before the game. Such signs as "Go home fraud" with a red slash
through his No. 23 and "Hey Becks, Here Before You, Here After You, Here Despite
You" were sprinkled among the capacity crowd of 27,000, the Galaxy's first
sellout of the season.
Beckham drew cheers for assisting on both Galaxy
goals in the 2-2 tie.
Beckham's next game in Southern California will be an
Aug. 1 exhibition against Spanish champion FC Barcelona at the Rose
Bowl.