Valencia have had their partial stadium closure reduced to three matches and their fine cut to 27,000 euros following the racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior by fans. The Spanish Football Federation appeals committee said that it had decided to “partially uphold” Valencia’s appeal. It means the partial closure of the Mestalla Stadium has come down from five matches, with an initial 45,000 euros (£39,000) punishment reduced by 18,000 euros. Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Real Madrid’s LaLiga match against Valencia on Sunday after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Madrid, who said the abuse constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office. Valencia had 10 working days to file an appeal to the appeals committee. LaLiga players and officials called for racism to be tackled in Spain in the wake of Sunday’s match. Before Tuesday night’s games between Real Valladolid and Barcelona, and Celta Vigo and Girona, players from both sides, as well as the match officials, stood behind banners which read “Racism, out of football”. Vinicius was set to serve a two or three-match ban after being sent off at Valencia, but Spain’s competition committee – a body formed by one member from LaLiga, one from the Spanish Sports Council (CSD) and one from RFEF (Spanish FA) – has rescinded that red card. LaLiga, meanwhile, said it would request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans were guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius incident. According to the country’s law, LaLiga can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out. Four people were arrested in Spain on Tuesday under suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinicius off a bridge in January. An inflatable doll dressed in a Vinicius shirt was hung from the railings with a banner that read ‘Madrid hates Real Madrid’ ahead of Real’s Copa del Rey game with city rivals Atletico at the start of the year. And Spanish police confirmed on Tuesday that four suspects had been apprehended. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Kris Doolan vows free-scoring Partick will attack Premiership play-off final Jurgen Klopp has ‘no worries’ over Mohamed Salah’s future at Liverpool Granit Xhaka ‘crucial’ part of surprise Arsenal title challenge – Mikel Arteta

Dollar General Corp. rose sharply in late trading after announcing former Chief Executive Officer Todd Vasos is returning

NBA rumors: Deandre Ayton doesn't have a lot of trade value right nowAfter trading for Bradley Beal, the Suns are really short on depth going forward. This will result in them attempting to move Deandre Ayton for depth.According to Adrian Wojnarowski, this may be hard to do due to the fac...

Rio Ferdinand tells 90min what he expects from new Man Utd signing Rasmus Hojlund.

Rishi Sunak would have “loved to” have watched the Lionesses in the Word Cup final but has “a huge amount of work to do”, a minister has said. Claire Couthinho claimed the prime minister would also not have flown to the World Cup final if the men’s team were playing because he is “so busy”. Asked whether the PM would have made the trip to Sydney, Australia if Gareth Southgate’s team were in the final two, the children’s minister said she did “not think he would have”. “But I do know how proud he is of the Lionesses like we all are, it’s such a tremendous achievement, it was absolutely just brilliant to see,” she told Sky News. Defending Mr Sunak over claims he was paying lip service to the women’s game by not attending, Ms Couthinho said: “The foreign secretary was there and the culture secretary was also there. “This government was represented. And I know that the prime minister would have loved to have been there but he’s also got a huge amount of work to do. “And I think the travel time is probably difficult. But I know how proud he is of the Lionesses. “We all are. It’s an amazing achievement to get to a World Cup final. It’s absolutely extraordinary.” It came as World Cup legend Sir Geoff Hurst said a member of the royal family “should definitely” have attended the final. Asked if a member of the royal family not attending was a mistake, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Yes, I do. I think if the royals attend the men’s game, they should definitely. “It’s an English team, a World Cup tournament, a member of the royal family should definitely have gone. “No argument at all about that.” Mr Sunak and the Prince of Wales faced a significant backlash over their decision not to attend the World Cup final in Australia, when England lost 1-0 to Spain. Critics argued the pay would travel to the game if the men’s team reached a World Cup final. Ms Coutinho went on to tell LBC that Mr Sunak is a “huge football fan” and a “big” fan of Southampton. “And he’s got two daughters. And he’s been so excited about the Lionesses,” she said. Asked which football team the PM supports, Ms Coutinho said: “The Southampton team. Is that the Saints? Yeah, he is a big Saints fan.” William and the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis watched the game together at their Anmer Hall country home in Sandringham, Norfolk. Read More Lionesses have ‘inspired millions’ despite falling short in first World Cup final Lionesses thanked for ‘inspiring millions’ as World Cup final set to give £185m boost to UK economy William and King tell Lionesses of nation’s pride despite World Cup final loss William and PM face running backlash over absence from World Cup final Prince William shares message after criticism for missing women’s World Cup Final ‘Disappointing’: Prince William blasted by Lionesses fans for missing Women’s World Cup final in Australia

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 11, 2023--

After New York, the fashion world descends on London from Friday, showcasing big names such as Burberry but also the work of young designers who could...

A dad-to-be has admitted to flying off the rails when he discovered his wife had lied about the sex of their unborn child. The 32-year-old wrote about the confrontation on Reddit, admitting that he’d “reacted in ways [he’s] now questioning.” The man explained that he was away on an “essential business trip” during his partner’s first pregnancy appointments and so she attended them with her adopted mother. “Upon my return, she excitedly told me we were having a boy,” he recounted. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He said the couple "invested emotionally and financially" in the projected image of their baby: creating a blue nursery, buying "boy-themed items", and "even naming him after my late grandfather". However, he continued: “A chance remark from her mother disclosed we're having a girl. “My wife admitted she knew from the beginning but didn't tell me, thinking she was protecting my feelings.” The Redditor revealed that he had suffered a “tumultuous” childhood and that, growing up, he had “always craved a strong male figure in my life”. “I never had that bond with my father and always envisioned having it with a son,” he explained, adding: “My wife was aware of this deep-rooted desire.” Upon learning the truth, he admitted that he felt “devastated”, saying that it brought up “the weight of past hurts and fresh betrayals”. “In my pain, I cleared out the nursery and, in a moment I regret, told her mother she wasn't welcome at upcoming family events, seeing her as part of the deceit,” he confessed. Ending his post, he said: “I acted out of deep-seated emotions and past traumas. I love my wife and regret my reactions, but I feel lost.” The original poster (OP) then asked members of the AITA subreddit whether he should be condemned for his actions, prompting more than 6,400 comments in just three days. “The way OP is acting about having a daughter comes across like he's going to have the same kind of relationship with her that he had with his own father,” one fellow Redditor wrote. “Little girls need their daddy to be their first male role model too.” Another agreed, saying: “The fact that men are often disappointed by our very existence as woman, even in utero, continues to highlight society's s***ty view of woman [sic].” She added: “Sorry we exist? Sorry you think you can’t live out your field of dreams fantasies with us? [...] It’s actually you that doesn’t want to include us due to archaic gender roles.” A vast number insisted that both husband and wife were in the wrong, with one saying: “I cannot imagine why she thought it would be less painful for you to think you were having a boy and then disappoint you later. Getting your hopes up accomplishes nothing.” “That said,” they continued: “You very much did overreact in clearing out the nursery and disinviting her mother from coming over. “This reaction is crazy and you talking about this pain and devastation surrounding having a girl is probably the reason she was afraid to tell you. Because she probably wants to be excited about this child and didn’t want to deal with you acting like it’s something devastating that it’s a girl.” They went on: “Also, you are projecting wayyyy too much on an unborn child. What if you did have a boy, but he wasn’t as interested in this intense father-son relationship that you are craving? Can any real-life father-son relationship actually even live up to the one in your head that is supposed to heal your past wounds?” Concluding their lengthy response, they added: “Your kids are real people, don’t set them up for failure by having all these weird expectations for how they will better your existing traumas.” Meanwhile, another commentator offered a more succinct summary of the whole thing: “I’m not sure what [the mother] expected to happen at the birth,” they said. “But I totally get why she lied.” Still, some Redditors were more forgiving of the heartbroken dad, with one writing: "I think OP is mainly upset that [his] wife lied, not necessarily that it's a girl. He's had no chance to even get his head around that." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Oil headed for the biggest weekly gain since early April after Russia signaled it would extend export curbs

The head-scratching rally in VinFast Auto Ltd. shares came to a sudden halt on Tuesday, erasing $83 billion

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 19, 2023--

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday dined with top Fox executives at his Bedminster golf club, during which Fox News president Jay Wallace and the network's chief executive, Suzanne Scott, encouraged him to participate in the first presidential debate the network is hosting later this month, two sources with knowledge told CNN.