branch

Detroit defensive back Brian Branch thought he had been blocked in the back illegally without the officials calling a penalty during the Lions’ 30-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

So as soon as the game ended, Branch took matters into his own hands — or, rather, his own hand.

After the final play, Branch approached the player he later said was responsible for the illegal block, Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and hit him hard on the left side of his face mask with an open hand.

Smith-Schuster fell to a knee but immediately popped up and went after Branch. The two players scuffled briefly, with Smith-Schuster losing his helmet and ending up back on the ground, as other players and coaches tried to intervene.

Talking to reporters after the game, Branch apologized and took responsibility for his actions while also attempting to explain what had set him off.

“I did a little childish thing,” the third-year player said. “But I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it. Like, they were trying to bully me out there and I don’t think — I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish.”

Asked to elaborate on what had happened during the game, Branch said: “I got blocked in the back illegally, and it was front of the ref. The ref didn’t do anything, and just stuff like that. And I could have got hurt off of that, but I still shouldn’t have done that.”

Branch said later in the interview that he should have taken out his frustrations within the rules of the game “between the whistles, not after the game, and I apologize for that.”

Detroit coach Dan Campbell, right, approaches Lions defensive back Brian Branch, left, in a crowd of players after a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 12.

(Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

Branch was fined $23,186 earlier this season for face-masking and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties during a game against the Green Bay Packers. He could face another fine and possibly a suspension for his actions Sunday night, an NFL spokesperson told The Times. There is no timetable for a decision to be made on the matter.

The Chiefs offense and Lions defense were on the field for the final play. As soon as the final whistle blew, Branch appeared to walk right past Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who had extended his hand for a postgame handshake, to confront Smith-Schuster.

“After the game, I was expecting to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game’ and move away, but he threw a punch,” Smith-Schuster told reporters in the locker room. “At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. We came out here, we did our job, we won, and that’s all that matters.”

Smith-Schuster was asked what might have led up to the incident.

“I mean, just me blocking him,” the ninth-year receiver said. “I mean, I’m just doing my job. I play between the whistles and after the game he just took advantage of what he did.”

Smith-Schuster reportedly received a bloody nose from the hit. There were no signs of blood by the time he gave his postgame interview, but Smith-Schuster confirmed that he had been bleeding.

Detroit coach Dan Campbell — who famously declared during his introductory press conference in 2021 that his team would bite off opponents’ kneecaps — told reporters that Branch’s actions were unacceptable.

“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologized to Coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs, and Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A MAJOR supermarket chain is set to close one of its branches soon, with another 34 also on the way out.

The food store announced the “difficult decision” it has made to close the store next month.

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Co-op in Leicestershire’s Derby Road in Ashby-de-la-Zouch will permanently close its doors on Saturday, November 22.

A statement from a Co-op spokesperson read: ” ‘Our store in Ashby-de-la-Zouch will close next month.

“Our priority is to fully support colleagues, who have been informed.

“We would like to thank the community for its support of this store.”

The supermarket giant has come under some fire for some time now for having two of its stores in close proximity with the Ashby Town Centre.

This came after the Central Co-op moved from the top of Market Street to near the existing Co-op.

The spokesperson added: “We carry-out reviews of our existing store locations, and, sometimes, only after very careful consideration, we take the difficult decision to close a store.”

The Central Co-op will remain open, with the next nearest one approximately three miles away in Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

It comes as the supermarket could shutter another 34 of its stores due to financial struggles.

The Sun previously reported that stores in Braintree, Chelmsford, Basildon, Thurrock and Southend are among other locations that are at risk.

Chelmsford Star Co-op said it is “struggling financially” and needs to merge with the larger Central Co-op society.

Issues are also said to have been “exacerbated” by increases in National Insurance contributions and the living wage.

Late last year, Co-op announced plans for a “portfolio reshape” which included relocation of stores.

The Co-operative has over 7,000 registered branches owned by 17 million members, and is reported to contribute around £35 billion annually to the British economy.

Co-op as an organisation organisation has, like most companies, been hit by the cost of living.

In December last year it was announced 19 Co-operative stores would be shut down across the UK due to “financial sustainability issues”.

The locations, based in various areas around Central England, include Leicestershire, Yorkshire, Norfolk and the West Midlands.

B&M bought three of the 19 stores, while Samy Ltd, a convenience retailer, snapped up 16.

OTHER CO-OP NEWS

This comes as Co-op is rolling out a major change to stores across the country.

The supermarket giant is replacing paper product tags with electronic labels throughout its whole estate over the coming months.

The retailer has already made the change in 340 branches but will roll out the tags more widely.

The chain said 1,500 stores will have the labels by the end of the year and will be rolled out across all its nearly 2,400 by the end of 2026.

The electronic labels are designed and created by VusionGroup, which also works with Asda.

Steven Logue, Co-op’s head of operations, said: “With convenience at the heart of everything we do Co-op is committed to continually exploring innovative technology that can improve how we operate.”

Co-op said the new electronic labels will show allergen and nutritional information and products’ country of origin, as well as deals and savings.