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ESPN staff 9y

LA Galaxy captain Robbie Keane says fine-inducing gesture not aimed at fans

Robbie Keane was one of several Major League Soccer players disciplined by the league's disciplinary committee during the first weekend of regular season matches. The LA Galaxy captain was fined for unprofessional conduct in his team's 2-0 win vs. the Chicago Fire.

After scoring a game-clinching second goal for the Galaxy, Keane ran to the sidelines and made a gesture that was construed by some, including former U.S. national team player and UniMas analyst Marcelo Balboa, to be derogatory towards the fans.

Keane vehemently denied that interpretation in a report on MLSSoccer.com, saying he was just trying to motivate his teammates and that the move was just a show of "passion."

"A million percent, it wasn't at the fans," said Keane, who spoke to the media after a training session at StubHub Center. "So whoever said that, you can't speculate on something you don't know. It's not a big deal. It's nothing. It's passion.

"I've got passion. I've got passion," he said. "I want to win all the times. I want things to be better. I do a lot of things sometimes to get everybody going in a different way. That's my way of doing things. I do it on the training field, I do it on the field. I'll always continue to do that."

Although Keane's Galaxy came out on top, the captain was visibly frustrated throughout the course of the game, as the team struggled to find a collective rhythm and put the visiting Fire away in their season opener.

Balboa, and fellow UniMas commentator Diego Balado, suggested the behavior was disrespectful to fans and Galaxy players and that Keane should no longer be captain of the team.

Galaxy manager Bruce Arena brushed those comments aside, saying he hadn't seen the video of the post-goal motion and didn't care to.

"He'll be captain on Sunday," said Arena. "You can let [UniMas] know that."

The Galaxy captain wasn't the only one who heard from the league office for disciplinary reasons after week one. The Colorado Rapids were handed three separate sanctions including a warning to the team for violating the mass confrontation policy.

The Rapids' Bobby Burling was fined for not leaving the field in an orderly manner after being ejected, while teammate James Riley was handed a one-game suspension and a fine for serious foul play for a foul on the Philadelphia Union's Andrew Wenger.

Columbus Crew SC's Tony Tchani received a one-game suspension and fine for his challenge on the Houston Dynamo's Leonel Miranda in the Crew's 1-0 loss at Houston.

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