BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Prince William watched his beloved Aston Villa as it hosted Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Prince of Wales and future King of England is a lifelong fan of the Premier League team and was part of the crowd for its first home game in European soccer's elite competition for 41 years.
William met members of Villa's 1982 European Cup winning team and posed for pictures before the match at Villa Park before watching the much-anticipated match.
“42 years on, our 1982 European Cup winning legends are here on an historic night,” he wrote on X. “Ready for the first game on home turf in this year’s European adventure...”
William, who is also patron of the English Football Association, sat in an executive box and was dressed casually in a dark blue button-up coat over a maroon sweater and blue shirt.
He was up and cheering with the rest of the home crowd when Pau Torres appeared to have fired Villa into a 23rd-minute lead only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR for offside.
Villa's last game in the European Cup — as it was formerly known — was against Juventus in 1983 when it was defending champion. It was eliminated in the quarterfinals and has had to wait more than four decades to make a return.
Bayern was a fitting opponent for its first home game back in the competition, given Villa caused a major upset by beating the German champion 1-0 in the final of 1982 to win the trophy for the first on only time in its history.
William joined England great David Beckham on Tuesday for the launch of two new air ambulances in London.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Britain's Prince William, left, and former soccer player David Beckham speak to each other during a visit to RAF Northolt, England, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Aaron Chown, Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prince William smiles during his visit to RAF Northolt, England, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Aaron Chown, Pool Photo via AP)
Aston Villa's Pau Torres reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Bayern's Michael Olise, left, duels for the ball with Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A San Diego doctor charged in connection with Matthew Perry ’s fatal overdose pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, entered the plea to the felony in federal court in Los Angeles, becoming the third person to admit guilt in the aftermath of the “Friends” star’s death last year.
Prosecutors offered lesser charges to Chavez and two others in exchange for their cooperation as they go after two targets they deem more responsible for the overdose death: another doctor and an alleged dealer that they say was known as “ketamine queen” of Los Angeles.
Chavez is free on bond until the sentencing. He has turned over his passport and agreed to surrender his medical license, among other conditions.
His lawyer Matthew Binninger said after Chavez's first court appearance on Aug. 30 that he is “incredibly remorseful” and is “trying to do everything in his power to right the wrong that happened here.”
Also working with federal prosecutors are Perry’s assistant, who admitted to helping him obtain and inject ketamine, and a Perry acquaintance, who admitted to acting as a drug messenger and middleman.
The three are helping prosecutors as they go after their main targets: Dr. Salvador Plasencia, charged with illegally selling ketamine to Perry in the month before his death, and Jasveen Sangha, alleged to be a dealer who sold the actor the lethal dose. Both have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
Chavez admitted in his plea agreement that he obtained ketamine from his former clinic and from a wholesale distributor where he submitted a fraudulent prescription.
Under the law he could get up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced on April 2, but is likely to be sentenced to far less because of the plea and his cooperation with prosecutors.
Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28, 2023. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common.
Perry began seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him. About a month before the actor's death, he found Plasencia, who in turn allegedly asked Chavez to obtain the drug for him.
“I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia texted Chavez, according to court filings from prosecutors. The two met up the same day in Costa Mesa, halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and exchanged at least four vials of ketamine, the filings said.
After selling the drugs to Perry for $4,500, Plasencia allegedly asked Chavez if he could keep supplying them so they could become Perry’s “go-to," prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges Aug. 15 that “the doctors preyed on Perry’s history of addiction in the final months of his life last year to provide him with ketamine in amounts they knew were dangerous.”
Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit sitcom.
Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, second from right, who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose, arrives with his criminal defense attorney Matthew Binninger, left, for a change of plea hearing at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, left, who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose, with his criminal defense attorney Matthew Binninger arrive for a change of plea hearing at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, left, who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose, with his criminal defense attorney, Matthew Binninger arrive for a change of plea hearing at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, left, who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose, and his criminal defense attorney Matthew Binninger arrive for a change of plea hearing at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, second from left, who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose, with his criminal defense attorney Matthew Binninger, far left, arrive for a change of plea hearing at the United States Courthouse in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
FILE - Matthew Perry appears at the GQ Men of the Year Party in West Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2022. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Dr. Mark Chavez, center, a physician from San Diego, who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry's death from an accidental ketamine overdose, arrives at the Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
