Rahul Gandhi meets Moosewala's family in Punjab
Mansa (Pb)(PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met the family of slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala at their residence here and expressed condolences.
Gandhi drove straight to the singer's native village Moosa from the Chandigarh airport in the morning and spent nearly 50 minutes with the family.
He also paid floral tributes to Moosewala.
Several Congress leaders including Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, former deputy chief minister O P Soni and other party leaders accompanied him.
Security was tightened outside the residence of Moosewala in view of Gandhi's visit. Moosewala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Mansa on May 29.
Gandhi was abroad when the killing took place and returned over the weekend.
Moosewala, who had joined the Congress December last year, had unsuccessfully contested from the Mansa seat in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections.
Leaders cutting across parties and other prominent persons have been visiting Moosewala's native village to meet the family and express their condolences.
Shortly before Gandhi's arrival, Congress' Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, who was last year served a show-cause notice for her alleged anti-party activities, also paid a visit to the singer's house and expressed condolences.
However, she left before the former Congress chief arrived.
Kaur is the wife of former chief minister Amarinder Singh.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann have already met Moosewala's parents.
Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa had written to CM Mann, urging him to "transfer the murder case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) so that justice can be delivered to the family at the earliest.
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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.
