London – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will start the English champions’ quest for a first Champions League title from the stands next season after being hit with a two-game touchline ban by UEFA on Monday.
Liverpool were also fined €20,000 (£17,567) by UEFA for the damage caused to City’s team bus on their arrival at Anfield for the first leg of a bad-tempered Champions League quarter-final between the sides as windows of the vehicle were shattered by bottles and cans thrown by supporters.
The second match of Guardiola’s ban, though, is suspended for a probationary period of one season.
The Catalan coach was sent off for furiously protesting after City were wrongly denied a second goal in the second leg with the tie still in the balance.
City were leading 1-0 on the night after a 3-0 first-leg defeat when Leroy Sane was flagged offside despite the ball towards the German winger coming off Liverpool’s James Milner.
With Guardiola sent to the stands by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz for the second half, City went on to lose 2-1 on the night and 5-1 on aggregate.
Liverpool were also fined a further €9,000 for the setting off of fireworks in the second leg with City and the second leg of their semi-final at Roma.
PHILADELPHIA — Just hours after Malcolm Jenkins held up signs to gathered media in the Philadelphia Eagles locker room Wednesday, he addressed a group of about 100 public defenders at a reception.
He explained how the police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile motivated him into action. How Anquan Boldin’s cousin also was killed by a police officer after his car broke down on the side of the road, leading to Boldin’s involvement and the eventual forming of the Players Coalition, which convinced the league to contribute $89 million over seven years to projects dealing with criminal justice reform, law enforcement/community relations and education.
Eagles defensive end Chris Long sits with Kristi Roehm, the co-managing director of the Players Coalition, at a meeting of public defenders to discuss bail reform. Courtesy/John W. Graves
Jenkins spoke of how members of that coalition recently helped push through a piece of legislation in Boston that raised the age children are allowed to be sent to juvenile institutions from 7 to 12, and about the championing of the Clean Slate Act — a bill aimed at reducing the recidivism rate in Pennsylvania — which has effectively passed through the House and Senate.
“There’s all of these ways that we’ve found to help,” Jenkins said. “If there’s one thing that we know how to do as athletes, it’s draw a lot of attention to whatever it is we’re doing. So we’re just here to really encourage you guys.
“We know that your job is not easy and you’re right on the front lines of this. So when you’re getting tired, you’re overworked, you’re running out of resources, time, please lean on your community … lean on organizations like us to really help you push that to the next level because you have people who are advocating for you, who are behind you. Thank you, guys, for having us.”
A public defender called out from the back of the room: “Thank you for kneeling.”
Jenkins never has knelt in protest, but instead raised a fist during the playing of the anthem for parts of two seasons. But in this room, it was the progress that had been done, not the form of demonstration, that mattered.
• White House blames Eagles » • Eagles coach Pederson disappointed » • Jenkins makes point with signs » • What it means, and what’s next » • Jenkins ‘tired of the narrative’ » • Undefeated: NFLPA’s Ben Watson says union must ‘keep pushing the truth’ »
In order to have the proper messaging, they had to first get properly educated.
“This might be a dumb question,” Long said, “so prepare yourself.”
Transparency, the group of about 25 defenders concluded, is key in keeping the power brokers honest and protecting the vulnerable, so Long was curious about the capacity of courtrooms and how easy it is for the public to have access to bail hearings to help keep things on the up-and-up.
“I’m not the person to ask because our system currently is really messed up,” one defender responded. “Our bail hearings happen via video conference in a trailer while our current jail is being reconstructed. It is, for a lack of a better professional term, a s— show right now.”
“You’re speaking my language,” Long responded, drawing laughs.
The latest actions of the Players Coalition unfolded in the shadows of a national controversy surrounding the Eagles and the White House. The Eagles were scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to celebrate their Super Bowl championship, but President Donald Trump, who has been at odds with the NFL over player demonstrations during the national anthem, canceled the event after the team told the White House that just a small player contingent would be in attendance. Instead, Trump had a celebration of the American flag and emphasized the importance of proudly standing “for our glorious nation under God” before the playing of “God Bless America.”
About 75 media members descended on the Eagles’ practice facility Wednesday. Most set up shop at the locker stall of Jenkins, who chose not to use his voice at all in this moment, instead holding up signs that pointed to the work that players have been doing in the community and stats related to social-justice issues.
Malcolm Jenkins (in hat) and Rodney McLeod (seated next to him) represent the Players Coalition at a meeting with public defenders. The topic was bail reform. Courtesy of John W. Graves
As it so happened, one of the events dedicated to those efforts was scheduled for that night.
“This is just an interesting coincidence, and it is an irony, because so many people that see players drawing attention to causes say, ‘Well, what are they doing?’ And the evidence is a Google search away,” Long said. “But the reality is I don’t think good news and productive stuff sells. We just have to get past this thing in our country where only the bad news and only controversy sells. This is good stuff. This is common-sense stuff. And it should be reported on that players are doing substantive things in their community and have been for a while.”
There were some jarring revelations in the session. A study found that 62 percent of the prison population in Philadelphia is made up of people in on cash bail, or as part of pre-trial detention. Those who can’t afford bail sit in jail for the lifespan of the case, which can be about six to eight months at the cost of $120 a day to taxpayers, all before it’s determined whether they’re innocent or guilty.
The New Orleans rep evoked an image from the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina of evacuated inmates from Orleans Parish Prison, in orange jumpsuits, sitting on the overpass “for hours and days” in part because of the sheer number of people that needed to be rescued. There were more than 7,000 in the local jail at that time in large part because of the cash bail system and the lack of resources in the public defender sector. Improvements in those areas have helped lower the current number of prisoners to around 1,200.
In Washington, D.C., they eliminated cash bail and established a pre-trial services industry that protects presumption of innocence rights, with positive results. It is considered a model for other states.
“Watch a bail hearing and you will see immediately the ills of that process and how it does not match up with the ideals of this country and the presumption of innocence,” Long said, “and the fact that we are jailing so many innocent people and it is taking such a toll on not just those people and their families but our country and bogging down our system. And not only that, but it’s just wrong, and the assignment of bail is arbitrary. People would be blown away. But we have to connect people to that process. We are influencers who have that ability, and coming away from today, we feel like we’re more empowered.”
Bradford-Grey pointed out that public defenders have been fighting this fight for decades, but because of the awareness athletes are bringing to the cause, “people are starting to care, they’re starting to learn more, they’re starting to get involved. For that, we forever thank them.”
Gianluigi Buffon has been suspended three matches in UEFA competitions next season as a result of his outburst toward referee Michael Oliver after the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in April, his last match in Europe with Juventus.
Buffon was incensed with Oliver after the official called a penalty in Real Madrid’s favour in the dying minutes of the second leg after Juventus had erased the Spanish side’s 3-0 advantage on aggregate. In a fit of disbelief, Buffon appeared to shove Oliver before being shown a red card for his dissent.
After the match, and with Juventus eliminated from the Champions League, Buffon continued to express his displeasure with Oliver’s decision to award the penalty, stating the referee had a “trash can” for a heart before doubling down on his comments days later.
Buffon, however, eventually apologised for his behaviour at a press conference where he also announced his intention to leave Juventus.
“After that match, I went beyond the limits with the things I said about the referee and I apologise for that. … If I saw the referee again, I would give him a hug and say that he should have taken more time with that decision in such an important game for us and for me,” Buffon said.
The Italian goalkeeping legend has yet to announce his destination for next season, though reports in late May suggested he was in advanced negotiations on a move to French giant Paris Saint-Germain.
Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is appealing a four-game ban that would cause him to sit out games against the Texans, Jaguars, Lions and Dolphins, league sources told ESPN.
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Jordan, a projected starter for Seattle, has been sidelined during organized team activities. Carroll said the team hopes he’s back by training camp.
“He had a surgery, kind of an after surgery to correct a little something,” Carroll said. “Everything went really well, and we’re hoping that by camp time he’ll be ready to rip and all that. But [it’s a] knee thing that, he’s had some complications over time, and so it was worth it to go ahead and clean this thing up. It was a really small issue, but it was one that was going to sit him down for six to eight weeks, so we went ahead and did it.”
The 28-year-old Jordan has had knee problems dating back to his time with the Miami Dolphins, who drafted him third overall in 2013 and waived him last offseason with a failed-physical designation. He signed a one-year deal with Seattle last offseason but then had another surgery and didn’t make his Seahawks debut until November. Jordan recorded four sacks in five games but missed three more with a neck injury.
The Seahawks re-signed him as a restricted free agent.
Jordan’s absence and that of Frank Clark during offseason work has further thinned the Seahawks’ defensive line, which underwent more turnover than any position group on Seattle’s roster. The Seahawks traded Michael Bennett, waived fellow end Cliff Avril with a failed-physical designation and lost defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson in free agency. Clark replaced Avril in the starting lineup last season and Jordan has been in line to take over at the other end spot for Bennett.
Clark has joined free safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Byron Maxwell in skipping voluntary OTAs. Asked if he expects Thomas back for next week’s mandatory minicamp, which runs Tuesday through Thursday, Carroll responded: “Yeah, it’s mandatory, so we expect everybody to show up.”
Recently signed wide receiver Brandon Marshall was absent Thursday. Carroll said Marshall, who’s coming off ankle and toe surgeries, was back home rehabbing.
Right guard D.J. Fluker practiced Thursday after being held out of earlier OTAs to rest a knee injury.
Offensive tackle George Fant has still yet to practice as he returns from knee surgery, but he is expected to be ready by training camp. Fant was in line to resume his starting role at left tackle last year before he tore his ACL in the preseason, prompting the Seahawks to trade for Duane Brown at the deadline.
“George could probably get out now if we needed him to, but it’s just not worth it to do that,” Carroll said. “He’s chomping at the bit. Now he’s had two years of lifting and getting the strength training in order. He looks great and he’s done everything. He’s been here the whole time with us, so we feel really good about the process of getting him ready. There’s just no reason to do it.”
