NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Fans of French club Lens were banned from buying tickets for a Champions League game at Liverpool by a UEFA disciplinary ruling on Tuesday.
Lens fans lit dozens of flares and threw some toward rival supporters and the field, forcing the team’s Champions League game at Club Brugge last week to be stopped briefly. Lens lost 3-0.
The club already was on probation by UEFA for fans lighting flares and fireworks at a previous Champions League game at Slavia Prague in September.
UEFA said its appeals judges imposed a ban on Lens selling tickets to fans for two Champions League away games.
The sanction will be served when Lens plays at Leipzig on Nov. 24 and at Liverpool at Anfield on Jan. 27. A third game ban is deferred for a two-year probationary period.
UEFA said Lens was fined 80,000 euros ($89,000) for charges of “lighting and throwing of pyrotechnics as well as for acts of damage.”
In a separate Champions League case, UEFA banned Slovan Bratislava from selling tickets to fans for the team's next away game, at LASK on Nov. 3.
UEFA also fined Slovan 40,000 euros ($44,500) on crowd disturbance charges during a 4-0 loss at Roma last week.
In the Conference League, Red Star Belgrade faced charges including racist behavior by fans at a home game against Copenhagen last week. UEFA imposed fines totaling 83,500 euros ($93,000) and ordered a section of the stadium closed for the 1991 European champion's next home game, against Inter Club d'Escaldes of Andorra on Nov. 5.
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Police officers clash with Slovan soccer fans during their Champions League opening phase soccer match between Roma and Slovan Bratislava in Rome, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Lens supporters light flares during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Club Brugge and Lens in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Lens supporters light flares during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Club Brugge and Lens in Bruges, Belgium, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Indian authorities Tuesday evacuated tens of thousands of people from vulnerable coastal areas in eastern Andhra Pradesh state as a severe cyclone over the Bay of Bengal was expected to make landfall along the country’s east coast, authorities said.
The India Meteorological Department said Cyclone Arnab strengthened into a “very severe” cyclonic storm and was expected to make landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast by early Wednesday morning with gusting winds and heavy rain.
According to officials at the state's disaster management authority, Cyclone Arnab’s outer bands began lashing parts of the Andhra Pradesh coast late Tuesday as the storm intensified over the Bay of Bengal and moved toward an earlier-than-expected landfall. Officials previously had predicted a landfall later in the morning.
“There is a possibility it will fully reach the coast between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. local time,” said Prakhar Jain, a top disaster management official in Andhra Pradesh. He said “heavy to very heavy” rainfall was expected in several districts under the influence of the cyclone.
“These critical hours require utmost vigilance,” Jain said.
Authorities placed all the state's coastal districts on high alert and began evacuating people from low-lying and flood-prone areas ahead of its expected landfall. They also canceled some train services as heavy rain and gusty winds had already started lashing parts of the coast, officials said. At least 89,000 people have so far been evacuated in Andhra Pradesh, according to an official statement.
The state’s disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s expected path.
Jain said the cyclone was moving at about 20 kph (12 mph).
“Extremely heavy rains and strong gusty winds” are likely in parts of the coastal region on Tuesday and Wednesday, he said. Officials warned that winds of up to 140 kph (87 mph) could accompany the storm at the time of landfall.
Authorities set up over 2,000 cyclone shelters across 20 districts, while emergency alerts were being sent to the mobile phones of millions of residents, Jain said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. More than 30,000 fishing boats were secured along the coast, while nearly 1,100 medical teams were deployed across affected areas to provide emergency assistance, he added.
In neighboring Odisha, officials planned to evacuate about 48,000 people from areas likely to be affected by the storm.
This screen grab, taken from the India Meteorological Department website, shows the storm Arnab over west central Bay of Bengal, India, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (India Meteorological Department via AP)
People use umbrellas to shield themselves from strong winds as Cyclone Arnab approaches the Andhra Pradesh coast, in Visakhapatnam, India, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo)
