Head coach Gambhir's revised message on Indo-Pak game: Focus on cricket
Dubai (PTI): Head coach Gautam Gambhir's call to "focus on cricket" has been echoed by fielding coach Ryan ten Doeschate, who on Saturday acknowledged that boycott sentiments with regards to India's Asia Cup match against Pakistan is a sensitive issue but stressed that the team has been instructed to strictly follow the directives of the BCCI and the Indian government.
There have been widespread calls to ban any sporting ties with Pakistan following terror attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir's Pahalgam.
Incidentally in a departure from convention, the Indian team management sent its junior-most coaching staff Ten Doeschate as there were apprehensions in the board corridors that had head coach Gautam Gambhir been sent questions would have been asked about his earlier stand.
"It is a very sensitive issue. Players feel the emotion and sentiments of the public. This is what we have discussed in the team meetings. Players are here to play cricket. We are following government instructions," Ten Doeschate said.
With the boycott theme trending widely among fans, he added, "Our thing is, you separate sports and politics. I understand the sentiment but we are following directives of BCCI and government. We are going by what the government and BCCI told us.
"Knowing this will happen was the most frustrating part. Gauti's message is to not focus on things not in your control. Messaging is to focus on cricket," he said.
Interestingly, Gambhir himself had taken a much harder line earlier. At an ABP event in New Delhi following the Pahalgam terror attack, he had said: "My personal answer to this is absolutely no. Till all this (cross-border terrorism) doesn't stop, there should not be anything between India and Pakistan. Ultimately this is the government's decision whether we play them or not. ...No cricket match, Bollywood movie, or any other interaction is more important than the life of Indian soldiers and Indian citizens."
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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.
