By being branded a cheater, Charlie Davies won’t be getting any more calls

It’s official. Charlie Davies is a cheat. Pretty well every fan who follows Major League Soccer knew that Davies’ acting skills had changed the outcome of two D.C. United games. In April, he went to ground all too easily when confronted by Los Angeles Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez. Last week, without contact, he threw himself to the grass and earned a last-ditch penalty to give D.C. United an undeserved draw at Real Salt Lake. MLS came down on Davies today, issuing him a US$1,000 fine for his antics in Utah. “The MLS Disciplinary Committee ruled that Charlie Davies intentionally deceived the officials and gained an unfair advantage which directly impacted the match,” MLS Executive Vice President Nelson Rodriguez said in a release issued by the league. “This type of behaviour tarnishes the image of the league, is detrimental to the game and will not be tolerated.” But what’s more important than the $1,000 is the stain. The league now has publicly admonished Davies for being a cheat. In the wake of the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots, public shaming has become all the rage. Now, Davies has to deal more with a public scolding… and its aftereffects. Referees are human. Disciplinarians are human. The fine will be in the backs of the minds of every referee and linesman that the league uses. So, next time Davies goes down in the box, foul or not, expect to see a card brandished for a dive or a simple motion made to the striker to get up. And it’ll happen again after that. And again. Once you get the brand, it’s hard to shake it. Major League Soccer has promised to get tough on diving and embellishment. We’ll see if that happens. MLS needs to follow up with fines on any player carded for diving. That simple. (Of course, that would mean that Toronto FC’s Mikael Yourassowsky will end up owing the league money by the end of the season; if it wasn’t for Davies’ high-profile dives, Yourassowsky’s rolling around and play-acting would have earned more scorn league-wide by now). But, at least fans and, more importantly, MLS defenders will know that Davies is probably as close to open game as any player can be at this level. He’s fooled the officials twice — no referee in the league will take the chance at becoming