Kerala marks Christmas with prayers, voices concern over attacks elsewhere
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala marked Christmas on Thursday with joy and solemn prayers, as churches across the state saw large gatherings of worshippers.
Special prayers began on Wednesday evening and concluded with midnight masses. Thousands of faithful attended services in churches across the state, marking one of the most important days in the Christian calendar.
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The head of the Syro-Malabar Church Raphael Thattil led Christmas prayers at Mount St Thomas in Kakkanad, Kochi.
Addressing the faithful, Thattil said life would bring many challenges, but people should find strength by turning to Christ, who was born in a humble manger. He said faith gives the courage to rise above difficulties.
He added that Christmas opens new doors of hope and possibilities, and that the festival should inspire people to move forward with renewed faith, guided by the light of the Christmas star.
The celebrations, however, were held amid growing concern over reports of attacks on Christians and Christmas events in different parts of the country. The Major Archbishop of the Malankara Catholic Church Cardinal Baselios Cleemis described the situation, where believers are allegedly forced to live in fear in several regions, as extremely serious.
He reminded people that Christmas is a day of hope and joy, and said believers should be able to celebrate freely without fear.
He also said there were deliberate attempts to reduce the importance of Christmas, but stressed that the message of Christ could never be erased from the land.
Calling for peace, he urged people to pray for those spreading hatred and appealed to those in power to govern with justice and a sense of responsibility.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
