Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Major League Soccer has fined Marc Dos Santos after the Vancouver Whitecaps coach called the league "amateur" and "Mickey Mouse."
Dos Santos made the comments during a November interview with The Athletic. The Whitecaps coach was comparing MLS and the league's off-season to other major soccer leagues around the world.
"Players at the top level, they have three weeks, one month maximum, on break," Dos Santos said.
"I'm telling you, three months and a half of a break in a soccer season is Mickey Mouse. It's amateur. It doesn't happen in the world."
MLS commissioner Don Garber announced Dos Santos' fine Tuesday.
"Vancouver Whitecaps coach Marc Dos Santos has been issued an undisclosed fine for comments regarding the league during an interview published on Nov. 4," MLS said in a statement. "These comments are in violation of the league's public criticism policy."
The league also announced a fine for Toronto FC forward Jozy Altidore for criticizing officials after Toronto FC lost to the Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup final Nov. 10.
Dos Santos' Whitecaps missed the MLS playoffs. Vancouver's final game of the season was an Oct. 6 loss to Real Salt Lake. The new MLS season begins Feb. 29. Spain's La Liga begins in mid-August and ends at the end of May. The Premier League also starts in August and ends in May.
