MADRID (AP) — Spanish club Villarreal is facing backlash from some of its fans after a last-minute deal to sign an Israeli player who has publicly supported his nation in its war with Hamas.
Some fans criticized Villarreal through social media posts after the club signed forward Manor Solomon near the end of the transfer deadline late Monday.
The 26-year-old Solomon arrived after Villarreal struck a loan deal with Tottenham. The Israel international played last season on loan with Leeds United, which he helped gain promotion to the Premier League.
Solomon had already been criticized by some fans in England after posting messages in support of Israel in the war. He has previously played for Fulham and Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk.
Solomon's signing capped a busy transfer window for Villarreal, which is returning to the Champions League this season.
The club from eastern Spain spent more than 100 million euros ($116 million) in signings, the third highest amount in Spain, according to the Transfermarkt website. It earned nearly as much with the sales of playmaker Álex Baena to Atletico Madrid, forward Yéremy Pino to Crystal Palace and striker Thierno Barry to Everton.
Other signings by Villarreal during this window included striker Georges Mikautadze from Lyon and defender Renato Veiga from Chelsea.
Villarreal's first Champions League opponent will be Solomon's former club Tottenham on Sept. 16.
Atletico was the club that spent the most in Spain with a total of more than 175 million euros ($203 million) in nearly 10 new signings, according to Transfermarkt. In addition to Baena, Diego Simeone's club also added defender Dávid Hancko from Feyenoord, midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis, forward Nico González from Juventus and playmaker Thiago Almada from Brazilian club Botafogo.
Madrid was the second highest spender (more than 167 million euros ($194 million)) but had the top-three most expensive signings. It paid 62.5 million euros ($72 million) for defender Dean Huijsen, 50 million euros ($58 million) for left back Álvaro Carreras and 45 million euros ($52 million) for teenage forward Franco Mastantuono from River Plate, according to Transfermarkt. Madrid also signed Trent Alexander-Arnold from Liverpool for 10 million euros ($11 million).
Barcelona still isn't able to spend much because of financial fair play regulations. The Catalan club paid 25 million euros ($29 million) for goalkeeper Joan García from Espanyol, and reached a deal for the loan of forward Marcus Rashford from Manchester United. It also added young forward Roony Bardghji from Copenhagen for 2.5 million euros ($2.9 million), Transfermarkt said.
Real Betis also made headlines by signing forward Antony for 22 million euros ($25 million) from Manchester United, according to Transfermarkt. Sevilla added veteran Chilean forward Alexis Sánchez on a free transfer, while Getafe sent forward Christantus Uche on a loan to Crystal Palace to try to clear some salary-cap space.
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FILE - Israel's Manor Solomon applauds supporters at the end of the Euro 2024 qualifying soccer match between Romania and Israel at the National Arena stadium in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.(AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, file)
UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York prison guard who failed to intervene as he watched an inmate being beaten to death should be convicted of manslaughter, a prosecutor told a jury Thursday in the final trial of correctional officers whose pummeling, recorded by body-cameras, provoked outrage.
“For seven minutes — seven gut-churning, nauseating, disgusting minutes — he stood in that room close enough to touch him and he did nothing,” special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick told jurors during closing arguments. The jury began deliberating Thursday afternoon.
Former corrections officer Michael Fisher, 55, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Robert Brooks, who was beaten by guards upon his arrival at Marcy Correctional Facility on the night of Dec. 9, 2024, his agony recorded silently on the guards' body cameras.
Fisher’s attorney, Scott Iseman, said his client entered the infirmary after the beating began and could not have known the extent of his injuries.
Fisher was among 10 guards indicted in February. Three more agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges in return for cooperating with prosecutors. Of the 10 officers indicted in February, six pleaded guilty to manslaughter or lesser charges. Four rejected plea deals. One was convicted of murder, and two were acquitted in the first trial last fall.
Fisher, standing alone, is the last of the guards to face a jury.
The trial closes a chapter in a high-profile case led to reforms in New York's prisons. But advocates say the prisons remain plagued by understaffing and other problems, especially since a wildcat strike by guards last year.
Officials took action amid outrage over the images of the guards beating the 43-year-old Black man in the prison's infirmary. Officers could be seen striking Brooks in the chest with a shoe, lifting him by the neck and dropping him.
Video shown to the jury during closing arguments Thursday indicates Fisher stood by the doorway and didn't intervene.
“Did Michael Fisher recklessly cause the death of Robert Brooks? Of course he did. Not by himself. He had plenty of other helpers,” said Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney.
Iseman asked jurors looking at the footage to consider what Fisher could have known at the time “without the benefit of 2020 hindsight.”
“Michael Fisher did not have a rewind button. He did not have the ability to enhance. He did not have the ability to pause. He did not have the ability to get a different perspective of what was happening in the room,” Iseman said.
Even before Brooks' death, critics claimed the prison system was beset by problems that included brutality, overworked staff and inconsistent services. By the time criminal indictments were unsealed in February, the system was reeling from an illegal three-week wildcat strike by corrections officers who were upset over working conditions. Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed National Guard troops to maintain operations. More than 2,000 guards were fired.
Prison deaths during the strike included Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at Mid-State Correctional Facility, which is across the road from the Marcy prison. 10 other guards were indicted in Nantwi's death in April, including two charged with murder.
There are still about 3,000 National Guard members serving the state prison system, according to state officials.
“The absence of staff in critical positions is affecting literally every aspect of prison operations. And I think the experience for incarcerated people is neglect,” Jennifer Scaife, executive director of the Correctional Association of New York, an independent monitoring group, said on the eve of Fisher's trial.
Hochul last month announced a broad reform agreement with lawmakers that includes a requirement that cameras be installed in all facilities and that video recordings related to deaths behind bars be promptly released to state investigators.
The state also lowered the hiring age for correction officers from 21 to 18 years of age.
FILE - This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows body camera footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File)
