NEW YORK — The MLS Disciplinary Committee fined Red Bulls striker Thierry Henry $2,000 on Monday for his part in an incident that injured FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman last Thursday.
Henry will not serve a suspension for his actions.
Moments after New York's Mehdi Ballouchy scored in the 2-2 tie, Henry attempted to kick the ball into the net as a form of celebration. However, Hartman's foot was positioned behind the ball at the time, and the goalkeeper suffered a knee injury as a result.
Hartman will miss two to three weeks with an MCL strain.
The referee did not issue a foul or a yellow card to Henry at the time. The New York Designated Player had already received a yellow card earlier in the game and another caution would have led to his ejection. Had he been ejected, he would have been missed the Red Bulls' tilt against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday.
MLS executive vice president of competition Nelson Rodriguez said on Monday that, if the match referee sees the incident but does not act, as was the case on Thursday, then it is up to the committee to decide whether the incident satisfies certain conditions to sanction the player.
Firstly, the committee must be unanimous that the incident was a clear and unequivocal booking offense. Secondly, the action must be egregious enough that the committee feels it necessary to "act to protect the integrity of the game."
"The committee deemed that the first condition was not met," Rodriguez told MLSsoccer.com. "It was decided that the action was reckless enough as it resulted in an injury, so it had to be recognized with one of the largest fines the committee has handed out."
Dallas midfielder Brek Shea, who received a red card in the game after a hard tackle on Chris Albright earlier in the match, was further cited by the committee.
Shea was handed an additional one-game suspension and fined $750 after the committee ruled that the tackle was reckless enough to warrant extra punishment. In making its decision, the league also considered his "unsportsmanlike behavior" as Shea initially refused to leave the field following the ejection.
