After the Colorado Rapids beat Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in an ill-tempered game, Colorado's Pablo Mastroeni taunted the Salt Lake crowd and made obscene gestures on what was a Youth Soccer Night that drew more than 17,000 fans to Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mastroeni's behavior also prompted a confrontation with Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts that was broken up by players.
Checketts released a statement that included: ''I am both outraged and embarrassed that players in this league – especially a World Cup star like Pablo Mastroeni – would engage in obscene behavior towards our fans, and am dismayed that no one from the Colorado organization was present tonight to discourage such boorish behavior. … I personally will provide video evidence and detailed accounts of what happened here to the league's highest levels, with the express intent of ensuring that incidents like this do not mar our competition or overshadow our role in this community.''
Mastroeni has a long record of disciplinary problems. He has received 59 yellow cards and seven red cards since joining MLS in 1998. This season, he received five yellows and one red card in 13 games. At the 2006 World Cup, with the USA tied, 1-1, against eventual champion Italy and playing with a man advantage, Mastroeni was ejected for a two-footed studs up tackle shortly before halftime.