05/08/26 11:09:00
Printable Page
05/08 11:07 CDT Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouamni half a million euros
each for altercation
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouamni half a million euros each for
altercation
MADRID (AP) --- Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurlien
Tchouamni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their
altercation during practice.
The hefty fines came a day after the midfielders tussled in training. Valverde
said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. The
spat ended when Valverde knocked his head on a table, said he suffered a small
cut, and went to a hospital.
The incident led Madrid to open disciplinary proceedings against the teammates,
and the fines reflected the reputational damage the club was enduring in a
chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said the 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."
Tchouamni 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.
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
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 is 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.
Madrid faces a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy.
Alvaro 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.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
