Bengaluru: The surge in COVID-19 cases in Karnataka continued to head upwards as the state reported 2,738 fresh cases of virus on Monday, July 13. The state also breached 40k-mark of the total number of cases reported so far.

Along with the new cases the state also recorded 73 deaths due to the virus between Sunday 5 pm and Monday at 5 pm, a health bulletin issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare added.

Bengaluru Urban District reported 47 deaths on Monday followed by Mysuru 6, Dharwad 5, Shivmoga 3, Bagalkote 2, Kodagu 2, Belagavi 2, and Uttara Kannada, Haveri, Hassan, Gadag, Tumkuru, Davangere reported one death each.

Among the districts that reported fresh cases on Monday are: Bengaluru Urban 1,315, Yadgiri 162, Mysuru 151, Dakshina Kannada 131, Bellary 106, Kalaburagi 89, Vijaypura 86, Shivmoga 74, Dharwad 71, Udupi 53, Tumkuru 48, Raichur 45, Davangere 45, Chikkaballapur 42, Uttara Kannada 37, Bagalkote 37, Koppal 31, Mandya 30, Kodagu 29, Belagavi 27, Hassan 25, Bidar 23, Bengaluru Rural 21, Kolar 21, Chikkamagaluru 10, Chamrajnagar 9, Chitradurga 8, Gadag 6 and Haveri 6.

Of the 41,581 cases reported so far in the state, 16,248 patients have recovered and have been discharged from the hospitals including 839 on Monday. 757 patients have succumbed to the virus while there are 24,572 active cases in the state currently, the bulletin added.

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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.