The league’s action comes less a week after the disciplinary committee fined Ortiz an undisclosed amount for diving in the second half against the Chicago Fire on May 20 at RFK Stadium.

Early in the second half in Vancouver, the Costa Rican forward made a move to get past defender Kendall Waston just inside the penalty area. Waston reached for Ortiz’s mid-section, making contact for an instant as Ortiz passed him. The D.C. player went down as if he had been tripped. Referee Sorin Stoica awarded a penalty kick, which Lamar Neagle converted in the 61st minute.

Under the disciplinary committee’s principles and parameters, a player is subject to fine or suspension in “obvious examples of simulation/embellishment.”

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When such acts have a “material impact in the match,” the league says, “the player will then be suspended and fined.”

“Material impact” can include a resulting red card or penalty kick.

After the match, Whitecaps Coach Carl Robinson called the penalty-kick decision an “awful call” and a “wrong call.”

In recent years, MLS has made greater efforts to discourage theatrics by issuing retroactive fines and, in rare cases, suspensions. While some of the disciplinary committee’s decisions seemed to have missed the mark, the league did suspend Los Angeles defender David Romney for embellishment in drawing a penalty kick against FC Dallas on opening weekend in March.

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Romney was side by side with an opponent when he went down in the box. On the Ortiz play, Waston’s reach with his arm seemed to sway the referee to award the penalty.

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“When you look back at it, it’s not a PK,” Whitecaps defender Sheanon Williams said of Saturday’s incident. “People make mistakes. You move on. To be honest, it’s on us. We should’ve been up 3-0 at that point.”

Vancouver hit the crossbar twice in the first half and once in second-half stoppage time before Cristian Techera pushed a penalty kick off the right post in the dying moments. Bill Hamid made several outstanding saves for United (4-6-2), which ended a three-game losing streak.

Patrick Mullins, United’s first-choice striker, is expected to start against Orlando on Wednesday. (He might’ve returned to the lineup even if MLS hadn’t suspended Ortiz.)