David Beckham was fined $1,000 by Major League Soccer, which said his gestures toward taunting fans suggested that they leave their seats and come on the field.

The fine by MLS commissioner Don Garber yesterday came five days after the English star confronted Los Angeles Galaxy fans in a group called the L.A. Riot Squad. The Galaxy and AC Milan played to a 2-2 tie in an exhibition game. Beckham played with AC Milan this year and was booed through much of the game.

"We support our players interacting with fans, whether it is at clinics, charity events or by high-fiving their supporters in the stands while celebrating a goal," Garber said. "However, our players should never engage in conduct that can be interpreted as encouraging fans to come out of the stands and onto the field, regardless of the reason."

At halftime, Beckham walked toward the group while shouting and pointing. He challenged fans to meet him on the field and tried to lift himself over advertising boards before security intervened. Police arrested a fan who left the stands.

Then after a second-half corner kick in front of the Riot Squad's section, Beckham immediately turned to those fans, put his index finger to his lips, shrugged his shoulders and blew them a kiss. The kick resulted in a goal.

SWIMMING

HIGH-TECH BODYSUITS BANNED BY FINA

Swimming's governing body banned record-setting bodysuits yesterday, a major step in limiting technology in the pool.

FINA has come under criticism for its failure to regulate the rapid advances in swimsuit technology that has led to 108 world records last year and nearly 30 so far this year.

Some suits are suspected of creating "air trapping" effects that artificially enhance speed.

"The most important thing is the future; the past we cannot change," FINA executive director Cornel Marculescu said. "The congress has made a very big statement."

A U.S. proposal to limit the amount of swimsuit coverage — between the waist and knees for men, not beyond the shoulders or below the knees for women — was overwhelmingly passed by the FINA congress, meeting in Rome during the world championships.

The new rule also says suits shall only be made from "textiles," but that term has yet to be defined.

The new rules won't take effect at these swimming championships.

FOOTBALL

SPURRIER LEFT TEBOW OFF ALL-SEC BALLOT

Steve Spurrier cleared up the biggest mystery swirling around the Southeastern Conference when he said it was South Carolina that left Tim Tebow off the preseason all-SEC ballot.

The Gamecocks coach said yesterday at the SEC's media days in Hoover, Ala., that the director of football operations filled out the ballot in his stead and voted for Mississippi's Jevan Snead.

The other coaches picked Tebow, Florida's do-everything quarterback and the Heisman Trophy winner two years ago.

Spurrier said he was embarrassed about it and has already apologized to Tebow. He said the SEC has let him amend the ballot to add Tebow.

The former Gators coach, who called Tebow the best football player in the country, said he has never filled out a preseason All-SEC ballot himself.

ELSEWHERE

Auto Racing: Ron Hornaday Jr., held off a late challenge from Mike Skinner to win the AAA Insurance 200 at Clermont, Ind., making him the first driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to win four consecutive races. Hornaday, the three-time series champion, had won at Milwaukee, Memphis and Kentucky.

Jeremy Mayfield is back under suspension for a failed random drug test after an appeals court ruled in NASCAR's favor yesterday, issuing a stay on the injunction that gave the driver the right to return to the race track. The one-page decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stands until NASCAR's full appeal can be heard.

Track and Field: Usain Bolt won the 100 meters at the London Grand Prix, clocking 9.91 seconds against a strong headwind. The Olympic champion and world record-holder beat fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake, who finished in 10.11.

Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva experienced a rare defeat at the London Grand Prix, ending a six-year winning streak at Crystal Palace. The 27-year-old Russian was beaten by Anna Rogowska of Poland.

Steroids: Five Jamaican track and field athletes have tested positive for doping, although a newspaper reported none of the nation's premier sprinters is among the group. Herb Elliott of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission told Radio Jamaica that four men and one woman have been informed of the results and will have an opportunity to contest them at a hearing.

Soccer: Yuri Zhirkov scored the tiebreaking goal in the 69th minute, and Chelsea defeated AC Milan, 2-1, last night at Baltimore to provide new coach Carlo Ancelotti a victory over his former team in the World Football Challenge. Ancelotti quit as coach of AC Milan in May and promptly signed a three-year contract with Chelsea.

Tennis: Top-seeded Dmitry Tursunov of Russia was upset in the quarterfinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, losing 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 to Frank Dancevic of Canada. Dancevic is unseeded and seeking his first ATP title. Tursunov is ranked No. 27.

MMA: Affliction canceled its mixed martial arts show scheduled for Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif., yesterday after failing to find a suitable replacement for heavyweight Josh Barnett, who failed a steroids test.