Yediyurappa rules out his son contesting from Varuna, says he will enter fray from Shikaripura
Bengaluru, Mar 31: Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Friday ruled out his son B Y Vijayendra being fielded from Varuna constituency to take on Congress leader Siddaramaiah and said he would fight the election from Shikaripura.
Addressing reporters, he said, "There is already pressure to field Vijayendra from Varuna, but I have said it long back though there is pressure from Varuna, he should contest from Shikaripura. So, there is no question of Vijayendra contesting from Varuna for whatsoever reason."
Yediyurappa added that Vijayendra will fight from "my constituency" (Shikaripura in Shivamogga district), so there is no question of asking him to contest from Varuna.
To a question on Vijayendra's statement that the BJP has got its own strength and he would abide by the party's decision, Yediyurappa said, "His statement is correct but I am saying that he will contest from Shikaripura. I will convey this to the party high command and Vijayendra. There is no question of him contesting from Varuna in Mysuru."
Yediyurappa is sitting MLA from Shikaripura, and has already announced his retirement from electoral politics.
Assembly elections will be held in Karnataka on May 10.
Yediyurappa had on Thursday raised expectations of a high-voltage fight between Vijayendra and Siddaramaiah by not ruling out the possibility of his son throwing his hat in the ring in Varuna.
Varuna in Mysuru district has become among the key seats to watch out for as Siddaramaiah, the Congress legislature party leader and former Chief Minister, is set to enter the fray in this segment, currently represented his son Yathindra.
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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.
