$860 Million LA Galaxy Hit With Massive Sanctions as MLS Imposes Multi-Million Fine on David Beckham’s Former Club

As the knockout stage of the World Cup is about to start, MLS made headlines by imposing a 2 million dollar fine and sanctions on a team. The decision came after a thorough investigation of the acquisitions by the league. They also suspended the LA Galaxy president Chris Klein for his involvement in the matter. Galaxy made head coach Greg Vanney Sporting director during the absence of Klein and will make the decisions he would have made. Any official statement on the matter is yet to come from the LA Galaxy.

MLS stripped him of his position after the investigation of the hidden pay. They fined the team 1 million USD for the undisclosed transactions. The transactions are from when the team took Argentinian winger Cristian Pavón on a loan. MLS listed him in 2019 with an annual salary of 1.2 million USD.

Statement on LA Galaxy by MLS

MLS, in their official statement, said, “The LA Galaxy entered into agreements that were not disclosed that included payments that were not accounted for in the calculation of Cristian Pavón’s salary budget and roster category… The undisclosed agreements and payments resulted in the improper classification of Pavón as a target allocation money player in 2019, who should have occupied a designated player slot.”

It also suspended the president of the LA Galaxy throughout the transfer window. The decision came due to his involvement in the decisions related to the deal. Apart from a million USD fine for the undisclosed salary, MLS also striped Galaxy for the million USD for the transfer budget. 

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Due to the decision, the team will not be able to acquire any player from outside the USA & Canada during the summer transfer window of 2023. The undisclosed payments meant that Cristian Pavón was improperly classified as a Target Allocation Money player. MLS said Pavón should have been a Designated Player Slot.

What’s new in World Cup 2022 news?

Speaking of shocking news, South Korea kept the script of upsets alive as they qualified by defeating Portugal 2-1. With Portugal topping the group table, Uruguay and Ghana are out of the tournament. In another shocking result, Cameroon beat Brazil 1-0, despite the shocking win, Cameroon failed to qualify for the knockouts. Brazil and Switzerland have qualified for the next round. 

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In the round of 16, Portugal will face Switzerland and Brazil will play against Brazil. With the group stage concluded, teams are now ready for the knockout stage. 

What are your predictions for the knockout stage? Share below in the comments!