Siddaramaiah's supporters celebrate in his native village and Bengaluru
Bengaluru/Mysuru (PTI): Even as hectic parleys were on in New Delhi within the Congress central leadership to choose new Chief Minister for Karnataka, there were celebrations in the native village of Siddaramaiah and outside his Bengaluru residence on Wednesday amid reports in a section of the media that claimed that his name has been finalised for the post.
However, amid intense speculation over the next Chief Minister, the Congress has said a decision on it is likely on Wednesday or Thursday and a new cabinet in the state will be in place in the next 48-72 hours.
Earlier, Siddaramaiah's supporters who had gathered near official residence of the outgoing Leader of Opposition in the Assembly here , were jubilant, as some media outlets claimed that his name had been finalised and only an official announcement was awaited.
Holding pictures of their leader they shouted slogans praising Siddaramaiah, and poured milk on the life size cut out of the former CM that has been put up in front of his residence here.
Similar scenes were witnessed in his home district of Mysuru, and native village of Siddaramanahundi.
His followers and well-wishers set off crackers, danced, distributed sweets and celebrated by pouring milk on his huge cutouts erected on the roadside.
Meanwhile, preparations were underway at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in the heart of Bengaluru, for the swearing in ceremony of the new (yet-to-be-finalised) Chief Minister-designate, with officials inspecting the venue.
In fact, this is the very venue where Siddaramaiah took oath as the Chief Minister for the first time in 2013.
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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.
