Munawar Faruqui announces new show, to perform in Kolkata
Mumbai, Dec 19: Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, who was last month denied a nod to hold a show in Bengaluru amid protests by some right-wing outfits, is set to perform in Kolkata in January.
The comedian took to Twitter on Saturday evening and shared a link to book tickets for his two-hour comedy act "Dhandho", to be held on January 16.
According to online ticket booking platform BookMyShow, the tickets -- priced at Rs 799 -- were "filling fast".
In November, Faruqui was under fire after the Bengaluru Police denied permission to his stand-up comedy show in the city amid protest by Hindu right-wing outfits, who alleged that he had hurt the Hindu sentiments in one of his shows.
The 29-year-old comic had said his show -- which had sold more than 600 tickets -- was cancelled in the wake of the "threats to venue vandalism". The proceeds from the show were supposed to be donated to late Kannada star Puneeth Rajkumar's charitable organisation.
Faruqui also claimed that 12 of his shows were called off in the last two months because of the threats to the venue and audiences.
"My name is Munawar Faruqui. And that's been my time, you guys were (a) wonderful audience. Good bye, I'm done," he had tweeted.
A few days later, stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, a vocal critic of the government, also said his shows, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru, were cancelled after the organisers received threats.
Earlier this year, Faruqui had spent a month in jail at Indore after a BJP MLA's son lodged an FIR in January accusing the comedian of hurting religious sentiments through his show.
https://t.co/kzhqp4leyn pic.twitter.com/uXFfcGA3ik
— munawar faruqui (@munawar0018) December 18, 2021
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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.
