NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Real Madrid stars Kylian Mbappé and Antonio Rüdiger were fined by UEFA on Friday but escaped bans from the Champions League quarterfinals over “indecent” post-game celebrations in the previous round.
Mbappé and Rüdiger were both given a suspended one-game ban for “violating the basic rules of decent conduct,” UEFA said, but those are subject to a one-year probationary period.
Madrid plays at Arsenal on Tuesday in the first leg of the quarterfinals.
The charges followed Madrid players celebrating a penalty shootout win over city rival Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 on March 12.
Video clips circulating on social media showed Mbappé grabbing his crotch on the field.
UEFA said Rüdiger was fined 40,000 euros ($44,000) and Mbappé 30,000 euros ($33,000). A third Madrid player, Dani Ceballos, was fined 20,000 euros ($22,000) with no suspended ban.
UEFA said no charges were made against Vinícius Júnior, who also had been under investigation.
The probationary bans are the same sanction imposed on Jude Bellingham, another Madrid player, after a similar incident with England at the 2024 European Championship. Bellingham also was fined 30,000 ($33,000) for a crotch-grabbing gesture after scoring a stoppage-time equalizer against Slovakia.
Bellingham was still under his year of probation at the Atletico game where he, Mbappé and Rüdiger all scored their spot-kicks in the shootout. Atletico won the second leg 1-0 to tie the aggregate score at 2-2.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger reacts after the Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and and Real Sociedad in Madrid, Spain Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, March 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump remained defiant on Monday as global markets continued plunging and fears of a recession grew after his tariff announcement last week.
He said other countries had been “taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA!” in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
“Our past ‘leaders’ are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country,” Trump wrote. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump has insisted his tariffs are necessary to rebalance global trade and rebuild domestic manufacturing. He has singled out China as “the biggest abuser of them all” and criticized Beijing for increasing its own tariffs in retaliation.
The Republican president also called on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. On Friday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that the tariffs could increase inflation, and he said “there’s a lot of waiting and seeing going on, including by us,” before any decisions would be made.
Trump spent the weekend in Florida, arriving on Thursday night to attend a Saudi-funded tournament at his Miami golf course. He stayed at Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach, and golfed at two of his properties nearby.
On Sunday, he posted a video of himself hitting a drive, and he told reporters aboard Air Force One that evening that he won a club championship.
“It’s good to win,” Trump said. "You heard I won, right?”
He also said that he wouldn’t back down from his tariffs despite the turmoil in the global markets.
“Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something," Trump said.
Goldman Sachs issued a new forecast saying a recession has become more likely even if Trump backtracks from his tariffs. The financial firm said economic growth would slow dramatically “following a sharp tightening in financial conditions, foreign consumer boycotts, and a continued spike in policy uncertainty that is likely to depress capital spending by more than we had previously assumed.”
On Monday, the president is scheduled to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House to celebrate their World Series victory. He's also meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and they're expected to hold a joint press conference in the afternoon.
Trump has strived for a united front after the chaotic infighting of his first term. However, the economic turbulence has exposed some fractures within his disparate coalition of supporters.
Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager, lashed out at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday as “indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing.” He said Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm led by Lutnick before he joined the Trump administration, stood to profit because of bond investments.
On Monday, Ackman apologized for his criticism but reiterated his concerns about Trump’s tariffs.
“I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error occur after our country and the president have been making huge economic progress that is now at risk due to the tariffs," he wrote on X.
Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News Channel that Ackman should “ease off the rhetoric a little bit.”
He insisted that other countries, not the United States, are “going to bear the brunt of the tariffs.”
Billionaire Elon Musk, a top adviser to Trump on overhauling the federal government, expressed skepticism about tariffs over the weekend. Musk has said that tariffs would drive up costs for Tesla, his electric automaker.
“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said in a video conference with Italian politicians.
He added, “That certainly has been my advice to the president.”
Peter Navarro, a Trump trade adviser and tariff proponent, later told Fox News that Musk “doesn’t understand” the situation.
“He sells cars,” Navarro said. “That’s what he does.” He added that, “He’s simply protecting his own interests as any business person would do.”
Follow the AP's coverage of President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump.
President Donald Trump arrives at the White House on Marine One, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn as he arrives at the White House on Marine One, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at the White House on Marine One, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
