FIFA has banned ousted former Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales from the sport for three years

Several attendees at an NFT festival in Hong Kong have been hospitalised after they reported experiencing vision issues, eye-burning sensations and sunburned skin after the event, which was allegedly lit with UV lighting. ApeFest 2023 was held from Friday to Sunday for members of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and their guests. To be a member, people must own an NFT within the collection of digital ape artworks. The Bored Ape Yacht Club artworks, created by blockchain company Yuga Labs, gained notoriety for becoming an exclusive online club that includes celebrities who have bought a Bored Ape NFT, such as Madonna, Justin Beiber, Serena Williams and many more, according to Decrypt. The NFTs, which, like cryptocurrency, sit on a blockchain; the person who owns the image has sole intellectual property rights and can choose to sell to another owner. Many crypto and NFT owners and fans went to the event, but some came away from the experience with bizarre symptoms. Attendees took to X (formerly Twitter) to ask other fest-goers if they had similar symptoms. One user wrote: “Anyone else’s eyes burning from last night? Woke up at 3am with extreme pain and ended up in the ER.” To which another person, under the username @CryptoJune777, replied: “I woke up at 04:00 and couldn’t see anymore. Had so much pain and my whole skin is burned. Needed to go to the hospital.” @CryptoJune77 also added that a doctor said that it could have been the UV lighting coming from the stage that burned their skin and damaged their eyes. Many other people replied to the tweets, saying they had experienced the same issue, with some also adding that they had to go to hospital. Another user, Adrian ZduÅ„czyk, said he had to pay $3000HKD ($383USD) for his hospital expenses after he was diagnosed with “photokeratitis over both eyes” due to unprotected exposure to UV radiation. “So many of my friends are still unaware they must seek medical help to make sure they end up with no damage, as well,” the user wrote. “Please go get your eyes checked immediately. We’ve most likely been exposed to experience similar to Mt Everest climbers - snow blindness.” UV radiation can cause photokeratitis, which is essentially like sunburning your eye, which can produce symptoms such as blurriness, tearing, redness and, in rare cases, temporary vision loss or colour changes, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Photokertitis is often associated with snow blindness, as climbers, snowboarders, or skiers can experience it when the sun reflects off ice and snow. After the sunburn allegations started circulating on social media, the Bored Ape Yacht Club issued a statement on X. “Apes, we are aware of the eye-related issues that affected some of the attendees of ApeFest and have been proactively reaching out to individuals since yesterday to try and find the potential root causes,” they said in their post. “Based on our estimates, we believe that much less than 1% of those attending and working the event had these symptoms.” “While nearly everyone has indicated their symptoms have improved, we encourage anybody who feels them to seek medical attention just in case,” the club added. The owner of the Bored Ape Yacht Club project, Yuga Labs, told The Verge that it is aware of the situation and is taking the reports seriously. “We are actively reaching out and in touch with those affected to better understand the root cause,” said a spokesperson for the company. “Based on our estimates, the 15 people we’ve been in direct communication with so far represent less than one per cent of the approximately 2,250 event attendees and staff at our Saturday night event.” The Independent has contacted Yuga Labs for further comment. Read More Guidance set to urge parents not to buy smartphones for primary school children ChatGPT update allows anyone to make their own personalised AI assistant Elon Musk weighs in on the scooped bagel debate Guidance set to urge parents not to buy smartphones for primary school children ChatGPT update allows anyone to make their own personalised AI assistant Elon Musk weighs in on the scooped bagel debate

The scheduled game between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Mets has been postponed because of rain

Homophobic chanting from fans which halted the CONCACAF Nations League semi-final between Mexico and the United States in Las Vegas has been “strongly condemned” by the region’s governing body. CONCACAF, the North and Central America and Caribbean football confederation, criticised the actions of some supporters during Thursday’s match and said it will issue a further statement after reviewing reports from the match official and security. Referee Ivan Barton, who had already sent off four players – including Leeds midfielder Weston McKennie – had halted play in the 90th minute at the Allegiant Stadium when the chant was first heard. Despite bringing the players back for an additional 12 minutes the referee ended the game with four minutes still to play after USA goalkeeper Matt Turner was targeted again. USA were leading 3-0 at the time, with Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic netting either side of half-time before Ricardo Pepi added a third in the 78th minute. “CONCACAF strongly condemns the discriminatory chanting by some fans during the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League semi-final match between Mexico and the United States,” said a statement. “Chants heard during the game led to the activation of the anti-discrimination protocol by the match officials. “Additionally, security staff ejected several fans for engaging in unacceptable behaviour in the stadium. “These incidents were extremely disappointing and tarnished what should have been a positive occasion to showcase high-quality football in our region. “The confederation is in the process of urgently establishing further details and reports from security and match officials and will make a further statement in short order.” In January, Mexico were fined £84,000 by FIFA for anti-gay chants by fans at two matches. “In terms of the chant, I want to make it very clear first and foremost, for our beliefs and our culture, it has no place in the game,” United States coach BJ Callaghan told a press conference. Read More Malta vs England LIVE: Latest Euro 2024 qualifier updates Equal prize money at men’s and women’s World Cups is a must, says FIFPRO England fans soak up the Malta sun and discuss tactics ahead of Euro 2024 qualifier

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