MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid opened a disciplinary proceeding against defender Raúl Asencio after his DUI conviction, coach José Mourinho said on Thursday.
“While the proceeding is open I see him as a Real Madrid player,” Mourinho said. "He’s injured and will continue to be sidelined for a couple of weeks. That helps me not to have to deal with this problem now.”
Asencio hasn't played this season because of a muscle injury.
A Spanish court said the 23-year-old Asencio was ordered to pay a fine and had his license suspended for the DUI incident this month. Separately, Asencio was facing allegations for allegedly distributing a sex video without the consent of those involved back in 2023. Court proceedings on that case were expected this week.
“He’s an exemplary professional. While he was fit, nobody trained harder or better than him," Mourinho said. " Now he’s the first to arrive and the last to leave. But a Real Madrid player is a Real Madrid player 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 12 months a year. Everything you do off the field is still about Real Madrid. It still damages the prestige of a club that is untouchable. I’m not happy, and everyone makes mistakes, but accumulated mistakes are different.”
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
FILE - Real Madrid's Raul Asencio celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Levante in Madrid, Spain, on Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton, File)
PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) — Buses carrying crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier streamed into Thailand’s seaside resort city of Pattaya on Thursday, as part of a port call after a lengthy deployment to the Middle East.
The Lincoln was supporting the U.S. war against Iran, and its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 260 days. Its lengthy deployment drew concerns last month about deteriorating mental health among the crew as well as shortages of key food supplies aboard.
The Navy downplayed any problems, and President Donald Trump commented that the deployment was “not nearly long enough.”
The ship has been deployed for a total of 286 days, according to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. Its total uninterrupted time at sea before Wednesday’s arrival in Chonburi province was 264 days.
The ship is expected to depart Thailand this weekend and continue its journey back to the U.S.
After clambering down from buses, laden with luggage, several service members told The Associated Press they were excited to be in Thailand.
Vendors and travel agents gathered outside the Hard Rock Hotel, the designated pickup and drop-off point for troops traveling from the Lincoln, which is docked nearby at Laem Chabang port.
They swarmed service members as they arrived, offering a range of souvenirs and services. Many sailors waved them away while waiting for their rides.
Two other ships from the Lincoln’s strike group are docked elsewhere in Thailand, with the destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. at Chonburi’s Sriracha port and the cruiser USS Robert Smalls in Map Ta Phut in neighboring Rayong province.
A-ngoon Sombat traveled 200 kilometers between Pattaya and the central province of Ayutthaya to sell colorful braided bracelets to the visiting crew, as she does every time she hears a U.S. ship is coming for a port call in Chonburi province.
She set up opposite the hotel entrance and had managed to make some sales, but said she is still unsure if business will be good this week.
“There are many vendors around. It’s really up to how lucky each of us are,” she said.
Dozens of service members could be spotted strolling around Pattaya's Terminal 21 mall with shopping bags in their hands as the afternoon sun was blazing outside.
A 20-year-old serving as a navigator aboard the Petersen, who declined to give his name because he was told not to speak to media while ashore, said the morale among his crew members was really high now that they had arrived in Thailand.
The sailor said it was his first deployment for the U.S. Navy. He said it was a bit of an ordeal but he was happy to finally be on his way home.
He declined to comment when asked about the reports about the conditions on the Lincoln.
A spot just outside the Laem Chabang port had turned into a small attraction by Wednesday evening, as people gathered to catch a glimpse of the Lincoln.
People arrived by car and motorcycle to peer through a mesh fence at the ship, which is as long as about three American football fields. They took photos and videos, excitedly chatted with strangers about their chance to see the vessel.
American Keith Eldridge, who has lived in Thailand for five years, traveled from the neighboring province of Chachoengsao just to see the ship. He was too late to catch the Lincoln docking but found the viewing spot through a recommendation from other enthusiasts he met along the way.
He said it was impressive for him to get to lay his eyes on this “engineering marvel.”
“When you get to look at something so big, wrapped up with so much technology, the radars, the sonars, the weapon systems, the propulsion systems, it is truly amazing that we can build it, float it, and we fight from it,” he said.
The Lincoln’s commanding officer, Capt. Dan Keeler, said the ship will be heading home soon, but may make further supply stops. He declined to comment on the exact date the strike group is expected back in the U.S.
People take pictures as the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrives at a port in Laem Chabang, Chonburi, Thailand, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln leave a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln arrive at a hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Billboard display at Walking Street in Pattaya, Thailand, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln talk to a souvenir vendor in Pattaya, Thailand, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
