BJP's former ally SAD to back Murmu in presidential polls
Chandigarh, Jul 1: The BJP's former ally Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday said it will support NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu in the presidential elections.
The decision was taken by the party a day after BJP president J P Nadda reached out to SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal to seek support for Murmu. The SAD had snapped ties with the BJP over the now-withdrawn farm laws.
Addressing the media here, Badal said, "We have unanimously decided to support Droupadi Murmu for the post of the President."
Citing issues of farm laws and the release of Sikh prisoners, Badal said his party has "many differences with the BJP" but the SAD always worked for the poor and weaker section of society.
"This issue is of a woman who belongs to a poor family and she is getting an opportunity to become the President," he said.
"Keeping our political differences aside, we have decided to choose the right path. The SAD's history says that it always fought for the poor, minorities and the weaker section. After considering for almost three hours, we (in the core committee meeting) unanimously decided that we will support Murmuji," said Badal.
The SAD chief said Nadda had called him on Thursday to seek support for Murmu. He said Murmu, a tribal leader from Odisha, also called him for his party's support.
The SAD had parted ways with the NDA in 2020 over the issue of three farm laws, which were later repealed. Harsimrat Kaur Badal had also resigned from the post of a Union minister over the same issue.
SAD president Badal is an MP from Ferozepur while his wife Harsimrat represents Bathinda parliamentary seat. The SAD has three members in the state Assembly.
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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.
