fines

Fights between players and coaching staff broke out after the Turkish side won the Champions League playoff second leg.

Fenerbahce duo Mason Greenwood and Matteo Guendouzi have been suspended and fined for their part in the chaotic scenes after their club’s Champions League playoff second leg against Lyon.

Last month’s 2-1 victory for Fenerbahce in France meant the Turkish side progressed 3-2 on aggregate, and, after the final whistle, Greenwood and Guendouzi, who both previously played for Lyon’s bitter rivals Marseille, were involved in a brawl with players and coaching staff from both sides.

Former Arsenal midfielder Guendouzi has been suspended “for a total of four UEFA club competition matches for which he would otherwise be eligible, for insulting others present at the match, provoking spectators and for violating the basic rules of decent conduct”, UEFA announced in a decision made public on Friday evening.

Two of the matches are subject to a “one-year probationary period”, European football’s governing body added in the statement.

Guendouzi, who was also fined 50,000 euros ($58,000), was found guilty, among other things, of giving the middle finger to Lyon supporters and of provocations that led to a scuffle after the match.

His English teammate Mason Greenwood, formerly of Manchester United, received a one-match suspended ban and was fined 30,000 euros ($35,000) for “violating the basic rules of decent conduct”.

Court cuts Infowars founder’s penalty for false claims that school shooting was a ‘hoax’ from $50m to $1.5m.

A court in the US state of Texas has slashed a fine that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay for capitalising on false claims that the deadly 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school mass shooting was a “hoax”.

The unanimous opinion by the Texas Third Court of Appeals on Friday reduced the $50m judgment to $1.5m. The court found that parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose six-year-old son was one of 20 children and six staff killed in the shooting, did not provide enough evidence of harassment to pass the state’s $750,000 cap on damages.

“The families care not at all about this irrelevant ruling which affects only two of the 19 claims they all share. Jones still faces over a billion dollars of liability, so this changes absolutely nothing. All it does is highlight the absurdity of Texas law,” said Mark Bankston, an attorney for Heslin and Lewis in Texas.

The decision does not affect a separate ruling against Jones in Connecticut that ordered him to pay $1.25bn for his claims that the shooting was a hoax perpetrated by the government to justify gun regulations.

The case centred on the allegation that Jones knowingly pushed false claims about the victims and their families – including that the children who were killed were actors – to capitalise on attention around the shooting for his Infowars platform, even as his claims led to a torrent of abuse for the families of victims. Many said they faced death threats and were forced to relocate as a result.

Jones and his company have filed for bankruptcy, and he gave up the Infowars brand in April. He has continued to broadcast online and share his shows on the social media platform X.

Jones called the Friday ruling a “gigantic victory for the First Amendment”, which protects freedom of expression in the US Constitution, adding that he will continue to appeal the case to the Texas state Supreme Court in a bid to have the remaining charges dismissed.

“I got lawyers who are good constitutional lawyers and they are not backing down,” Jones said.

OFFICIALS in Italy are cracking down on anyone attempting to bag themselves the best beach spot by leaving items on the sand all week.

From sunloungers to parasols, those caught trying to reserve a space in the morning or late at night could receive a fine over £400.

On a coastal suburb in Naples called Torre del Greco, officials like coastguard staff and police have been removing ‘reserved’ spots.

Tourists have been leaving items on the beach overnight in order to keep their place.

During a morning sweep of one of the beaches called Laghetto, authorities seized up to 40 items, as reported by The Guardian.

Others have complained that items like sun umbrellas and small tables have been left unattended for days by tourists reserving the space to use later on.

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The port authority said: “It is a practice that recurs each summer, but it is expressly prohibited.

It added that “occupying the beach in this manner violates the regulations governing the management of maritime public domain areas.”

Anyone caught leaving belongings on the beach after sunset to keep their spot will be fined up to €500 (£425).

Beaches in Torre del Greco include Spiaggia libera Il Laghetto and Moon Beach.

This isn’t the only spot to crack down on sunlounger hogging.

These rules are being enforced by the Calpe Town Council, which affects the Costa Blanca.

Local authorities in the Spanish resort have the right to remove sunbeds, towels and parasols put on beaches before 9.30am.

Anyone whose belongings taken away will have to pay to get them back and could face a fine of up to €250 (£216).

Across Europe, other crackdowns include smoking on beaches and wearing swimwear in public spaces that aren’t the beach.