Last weekend, David Beckham and the LA Galaxy faced his other professional soccer team AC Milan in a friendly exhibition match at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. As you may recall, the game ended in a 2-2 tie but it was an incident at half-time that was the real talk of the game. Becks was greeted by unhappy Galaxy fans who heckled and jeered him thruout the match (fans who take great issue with Becks‘s commitment to the team). At half-time, Becks confronted the angry fans and encouraged one of them to come out of the stands to shake his hand (or something) … the fan complied and jumped down from the stands only to be apprehended and thrown out of the stadium. As a result of that action, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber fined David Beckham $1,000 for his unsportsman-like conduct:

Los Angeles Galaxy megastar midfielder David Beckham has been fined $1,000 by Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber for his interaction with a fan at halftime of last Sunday’s exhibition game against AC Milan. At the end of the first half, Beckham approached the part of The Home Depot Center stands where members of the “L.A. Riot Squad” — the team’s most hardcore fans — sit. He gestured to a fan to come toward him. The fan, identified by California State Dominguez Hills officials as Joshua Paige, came out of the stands toward Beckham and was cited for trespassing. The university’s police department provided security for the game. Beckham said after the game that, “The fans were absolutely saying certain things that shouldn’t be said to anybody.” “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 gave a different account, saying Beckham gestured toward the fan and said, “Come down here,” followed by an expletive. After issuing the citation, Commissioner Garber said, “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 situation.” Galaxy coach-general manager Bruce Arena said the team registered the incident, and 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 Serie 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.

HMMM … when the incident happened last weekend, I don’t recall that Becks said “calm down and support the team” … his behavior looked much more confrontational. But, whatever the case may be, taunting the fans is a rookie move and Becks should know better. I think it makes sense that the MLS Commissioner would decide to fine Becks for his actions … in all honesty, I bet Beckham shines his shoes with $1,000. After the jump, check out video of the incident for another look at what exactly went down on that fateful night …

In the video you can clearly see Becks motioning for a fan to come down out of the stands. That is such a no-no. With all of this soccer hooliganry going on in the MLS, it’s really starting to feel like soccer really has come home to the US. What next, riots in the parking lots?

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