Stone pelting on Sena candidates in Pune: Won't get scared by such cowardly politics, says Shinde
Pune (PTI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday decried the alleged incident of stone pelting on Shiv Sena candidates campaigning for the January 15 Pune civic polls and said he and his workers are not scared of such cowardly politics.
Shinde's party colleague Pramod Nana Bhangire had alleged that stones were thrown at him and Sarika Pawar, both candidates from ward number 41, in Kale Padal in Hadapsar late Wednesday evening. Pawar sustained a minor injury in the incident, while the windscreen of their car was damaged, Bhangire had claimed.
Addressing a rally in Katraj here, Shinde, mentioning the incident, said, "I warn the opposition parties to not indulge in such cowardly acts. Shiv Sainiks will not get scared. We are Balasaheb Thackeray's sainiks. The Shiv Sena does not leave its workers to fend for themselves."
Shinde also mentioned an incident in Mumbai, where BJP workers allegedly used the '50 khokhe' (Rs 50 crore) slogan to target the Shiv Sena. The slogan was coined by the Uddhav Thackeray faction following the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has routinely alleged that Shinde and his rebels got Rs 50 crore each to break the party.
Underplaying the slogan episode, Shinde said his party and the BJP are contesting the Mumbai civic polls jointly and putting up a strong united fight.
Shinde exuded confidence that the Shiv Sena will show its might in Pune.
"Do not take Shiv Sena lightly just because it is contesting polls on its own. Shiv Sena runs on the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. It is Hindutva ideology," he added.
The BJP and Shiv Sena are fighting polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad separately, while Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party has tied up with Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP).
Speaking at the rally, Shinde took a swipe at former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
"Some people consider themselves as owners but the real owners are citizens. It is the people who decide who to take up and who to bring down," he said.
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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.
