Real Madrid have punished Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni with a €500,000 (£432,100) fine each after their training ground fight this week.
Valverde was sent to hospital on Thursday after he clashed with Tchouameni in the dressing room following a dispute during the training session.
The Uruguay international hit his head on a table during the confrontation and suffered a cut which was treated by medical staff in hospital. He will now miss Madrid’s game against Barcelona in La Liga on Sunday.
A statement from Madrid on Friday read: ‘Real Madrid C. F. announces that, following the events that led to the disciplinary proceedings initiated yesterday against our players Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni, both appeared today before the investigator assigned to the case.
‘During their appearance, the players expressed their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to each other.
‘Furthermore, they extended their apologies to the club, their teammates, the coaching staff, and the fans, and both have made themselves available to Real Madrid to accept whatever sanction the club deems appropriate.
‘Under these circumstances, Real Madrid has decided to impose a financial penalty of five hundred thousand euros on each player, thereby concluding the corresponding internal procedures.’
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In his statement, Valverde insists he was not struck by Tchouameni and told Madrid supporters he is ‘truly sorry for this situation’.
‘Yesterday, I had an incident with a teammate stemming from a play during training, a situation where the fatigue of competition and sheer frustration caused everything to get blown out of proportion,’ Valverde said.
‘Today, we had another run-in. During the argument, I accidentally struck a table, sustaining a small cut on my forehead that required a routine visit to the hospital.
‘My teammate [Tchouameni] didn’t hit me, nor did I hit him. Although I understand that for you it might be easier to believe that we beat the hell out of each other or that he intentionally injured me, that is not what happened.
‘I am truly sorry for this situation. It gives me pain. It hurts to see what we are currently going through.
‘Real Madrid is one of the most important things in my life, and I cannot remain indifferent to it. This outcome is the culmination of various factors that ultimately resulted in a senseless altercation, one that damages my reputation and leaves room for doubt, allowing for fabrications, defamation, and the sensationalizing of what was merely an accident.’
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