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Watford boss Nigel Pearson has admitted that he 'can't stand' fake crowd noise, which he has compared to "American comedy shows with canned laughter".

The Premier League returned behind closed doors this week, with numerous new systems put in place to enhance the experience for players, staff members and supporters watching from home.

One of the more controversial additions has been the introduction of artificial crowd noise, which clubs have the option to turn on whenever the ball is out of play.

Watford trialled the sounds over their loudspeakers at Vicarage Road during a friendly against Brentford last weekend, and number one goalkeeper Ben Foster was left frustrated by the random interruptions.

“It really annoyed me,” Foster said post-match. “Everybody agreed we’d rather not have it.”

Pearson echoed the English shot-stopper's sentiments during a press conference on Thursday, while revealing that Watford will not be using the system again when they place host to Leicester on Saturday.

He said: “What we have got to do is just deal with the situation, our stadium will be the same as every other stadium - no supporters.

“It is a real shame, let’s be honest this game is for supporters. It would be nice to have our fans here, but they are not so it is how you are able to deal with the situation.

“Hopefully our players will be able to isolate all the emotional side of it and deal with a sterile environment.

“We are not overly keen on - I don’t know if you like American comedy shows, I can’t stand them with canned laughter - so we don’t intend to create an environment where there is a false atmosphere.

“We have to deal with our own situation and know that our fans are very much behind us. We know that anyway, we are a club that has an identity in the community and the way the club has supported that community during the pandemic has been very, very good.

“Every club is in the same situation, we just have to try and win as many games as possible and deal with an unusual set of circumstances.”

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has been charged with driving without due care and attention, and failing to stop at or report a collision.

Grealish is set to appear in court on August 25 following an alleged incident when he breached lockdown regulations on March 29.

The midfielder was pictured on social media on a Birmingham street next to a Range Rover, which had apparently collided with two parked cars.

Grealish apologised and said he was "deeply embarrassed" after it emerged he had visited a friend's house, breaching government rules that were imposed to try to limit the spread of coronavirus.

West Midlands Police launched an investigation and on Thursday revealed the playmaker, linked with Manchester United, has been charged.

"A Premier League footballer has been charged with driving without due care and attention, and failing to stop at or report a collision," a police statement said. "Jack Grealish is accused of the offences in Waterside, Dickens Heath, Solihull, on Sunday March 29.

"An investigation was launched after we responded to reports of a car hitting parked vehicles and the driver fleeing on foot. The 24-year-old from Barnt Green, Worcestershire, has been postal charged to appear before Birmingham Magistrates Court on August 25."

Grealish donated £150,000 to Birmingham Children's Hospital and raised £55,000 for the NHS by raffling off one of his shirts after breaching lockdown regulations soon after they were imposed.

He has said he regrets breaking coronavirus lockdown protocols, but also stresses that he is "still human and we all make mistakes".

“I knew straight away that I had to come out and apologise myself, which I wanted to do; I didn’t want to hide behind a club statement,” Grealish told The Guardian earlier this month. “I am old enough now and mature enough to know that I’d done wrong.

“I know I am a footballer but I’m still human and we all make mistakes and straight away I knew I’d made a mistake. I’m also a role model as well to a lot of people out there, especially young children who might look up to me.

"So I try to act in a respectable manner but since then I have tried to keep my head down, work hard and do as much charitable work as possible.”

He played in Villa's goalless draw with Sheffield United behind closed doors at Villa Park on Wednesday, the first game of the Premier League season since it was suspended in March.

Yanga SC have confirmed talks are ongoing between them and Kinondoni Municipal Council FC winger Charles Ilamfya.

Yanga attempted to sign the winger the last time he ended up joining KMC from Mwadui FC but the Wananchi seem intent to get him this time around.

Ilamfya was on target when KMC defeated Yanga 3-0 during a recent friendly tie in Dar es Salaam.

“We have started negotiations with him already and we hope to finish it soon so that he can join us for the next season,” an unnamed Yanga official told Mwanaspoti.

“He is a good winger, has got high speed, is also very intelligent and we surely need such players to fight for us. But we will need to be patient and finalise contract negotiations with him first.

“We have been monitoring him closely and his performance even in the last friendly was very promising.”

Yanga head coach Luc Eymael revealed the club is planning to sign six players in the upcoming transfer window.

“The six players to be signed are expected to be at the level of [Bernard] Morrison, [Pappy] Tshishimbi and [Lamine] Moro as we need players who can assist the team for local and international matches,” Eymael told Mwanaspoti.

Meanwhile, Simba SC head coach Sven Vandenbroeck has stated two weeks were never going to be enough for them to prepare for the Mainland League resumption.

“We were out for three months and two weeks was never going to be enough before we played our very first game,” Vandenbroeck told the club's portal.

“We will use this week to ensure we help our players gain enough psychological and physical fitness and improve our tactical awareness too.

“If it is going to be possible, we will organise another friendly match in order to prepare ourselves even better and see that the players gel more for a better outing against Mwadui.

“I want each of our players to get at least 70 or 90 minutes of play and that is why those who were not engaged against Ruvu Shooting did play against Transit Camp in a friendly in the following morning.”

Simba were forced to a 1-1 draw against Ruvu Shooting and the Belgian coach says he was never impressed by the result.

“I was not happy for the draw against Ruvu Shooting but how the players played was very impressive. They played according to how we wanted them to,” he concluded.

Simba will host Mwadui on June 20.

Ugandan coach Matia Lule has revealed Sebastien Desabre hated double-dealers.

The two tacticians worked from 2017 to 2019 at the national team and helped the Cranes qualify and reach the Round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

Lule reveals Desabre hated betrayers to the point of calling them 'snakes'.

“He hated double-dealers and used to call them snakes,” Lule told Sports Nation.

“He never wanted to work with people who could change the next day after agreeing on something. He was a man of his word and he never wanted empty promises.”

The former U17 coach revealed the Frenchman was a professional man whom they argued little especially when it came to matters of team selection.

“Desabre was very straightforward and respected his staff. He respected time and knew when to work and joke,” added the former Proline FC head coach.

“Ever since I started to work with Desabre, all the time we were in a professional line and both of us were understanding everyone’s strong and weak points.

“But on top of everything, Desabre gave me his trust, and I gave him also mine. At times we reached a situation of disagreement in team selection, but we had to move on.

“He would credit you when a tactic worked and always wanted your input right from the time of preparations to the training on the pitch.

“When we agreed on something, say like a certain tactic, and it fails to work, we all had to take the blame.”

Lule has also been in charge of traditional Uganda Premier League (UPL) sides Express FC and KCCA FC.

Meanwhile, Ugandan striker Rachid Mutebi has threatened to leave Rwandan side Etincelles. 

The 24-year old is reportedly in secret talks with Musanze FC as the relationship with his current side seems to deteriorate by the day.

“I have not been paid in a lot of time and they [Etincelles] continue to play little tricks behind my back. I think I have been left with no choice but to leave,” Mutebi told New Times.

Mutebi scored eight goals for Etincelles in the abandoned league after joining from Mukura Victory Sport, where he won the 2018 Peace Cup, in 2019.

He has also played for Bidico FC, Sadolin FC, SC Villa and Gicumbi FC before.

Former Nigeria international and assistant coach Sylvanus Okpala has praised Moses Simon’s permanent move to Ligue 1 side Nantes.

The winger joined the La Beaujoire-Louis Fonteneau outfit last summer on a season-long loan deal from Spanish side Levante and delivered impressive showings.

Simon scored nine goals and provided eight assists in 30 appearances across all competitions to help Christian Gourcuff’s men finish 13th in the recently-concluded 2019-20 Ligue 1 campaign.

Simon’s eye-catching performances saw him clinch the club’s Player of the Season award and Goal of the Season prize.

Following his fine displays, the Canaries triggered their option to purchase the Super Eagles star and Okpala, who highlighted a number of reasons that players often consider before making a switch, feels the move should be good for the forward.

“It is good for him as long as he is making his money. I hope it’s a good money move,” Okpala told the Punch.

“When you move to a club, you look at your age because you play football with age. Once you are in your 30s, you have fewer years to play.

“It doesn’t mean that you are making that move solely for the money, you are moving to get to the next level in your career in terms of one transition to the other.

“Playing every weekend and not sitting on the bench is the most important thing but you don’t just move for moving sake, you also move for money, football is all about making a name and making money.”

Simon started his professional career in Nigeria with GBS Academy in 2003 before joining Ajax's youth setup in 2013.

In 2014, he signed for Slovak outfit Trencin and spent a season with the side where he scored 13 league goals in 33 games.

He then moved to Belgium to team up with Gent and won the league title and Super Cup trophy before moving to Spain to join Levante in the summer of 2018.

The forward, who was part of the Super Eagles squad that finished third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, will hope to continue his eye-catching displays in the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season.

Quess East Bengal has announced that they have completed the repatriation of two foreign footballers Johnny Acosta and Kassim Aidara and assistant coach Carlos Paz. 

The official statement from investors Quess Corp read, "Quess Corp/Quess East Bengal FC is pleased to inform that with the help of senior officials of Air India and the tenacious coordination of designated company officials, the repatriation of the three remaining foreign players/staff has been successfully completed despite severely restricted international flight availability."  

The club also provided an update on the travel itinerary of the three individuals. Kassim Aidara flew to London via New Delhi on June 14. He was also provided with an overnight stay in the national capital organised by the club. The midfielder had earlier refused to travel in May as he did not have the requisite immigration papers to enter the UK at that time.

As per the club, Costa Rican defender Jhonny Acosta had refused to fly back to his homeland back in May and early June and later unilaterally decided to book his tickets on June 15. Acosta is presently in Delhi and will fly back to Costa Rica on June 19 by a special Air India evacuation flight. 

Physical trainer and assistant coach Carlos Nodar did not fly back to Spain with the Spanish players and other coaching staff on May 4. He finally left the city on Thursday for Mumbai and from Mumbai, he will travel back to Madrid. The club has provided him with a transit hotel stay in Mumbai.

Both Jhonny Acosta and Kassim Aidara had earlier lambasted Quess Corp for non-payment of their salaries. Acosta had even slammed the company for being 'apathetic' to his situation and not helping him to return to his country.

Aidara had called out the Bengaluru-based company for being 'disrespectful' towards the players and termed the whole issue as a 'disaster'.

Alex Morgan has secured his place in call of Duty: Wazone ultimate team, which features a combo of COD's operators and football players who have similar characteristics.

Goal.com has teamed up with Call of Duty to make the "Coalition vs Allegiance" ultimate team. The concept consists on choosing 11 characters from both the Coalition and Allegiance who are featuring in Warzone.

We then analyze the specific traits of each character and potential Footballers who fit the mould and resemble well with the character. The audience is involved by voting for their favorite Operator-Footballer combo to make it feature in the Ultimate team.

For the new poll, we had a duel between Alex Morgan and Wendie Renard who were representing MARA from the coalition team and SYD from the Allegiance team respectively.

The USWNT striker led the poll with 72% of the votes (7800) beating out Lyon's player who ended up with 28% of the votes (2955).

Stay tuned for our next poll...

The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (Fufa) President Moses Magogo has explained why the clubs will not enjoy financial support.

Led by Premier League clubs, teams in Uganda had reached out to Fufa to bail them out during the coronavirus pandemic but Magogo has come out to make it clear why such prayers cannot be granted.

“The government allocation of funds is done by an act of Parliament. Whatever we request for, must be used according to the initial plan. Therefore, we cannot channel the funds because there is a shortage,” Magogo told the club's representatives during the consultative meeting on the 2020/21 season. 

“Whereas we may want to help the clubs, but it is not right to say Fufa should divert the funds meant for the Uganda Cranes towards clubs.

“We go through an audit by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. It is not true that Fufa doesn't support clubs.

“We spend USh128M in prize money, USh400M in medical insurance and we paid over USh600M for air tickets to KCCA FC and Proline FC for their continental expeditions.”

Magogo elaborated what his administration is hoping to achieve as part of their legacy while in charge of Fufa.

“Fufa has always been open and we believe this meeting will definitely benefit us all,” added the Caf Executive member

“When we took over Fufa, we focused on four areas; building the institution of Fufa, finding resources, relationship with key stakeholders and football development.

“Going forward, we have had internal discussions as Fufa and we believe we must shift our focus towards infrastructure, national legislation and football competitions.”

The meeting was attended even by the clubs that boycotted the initial one and they included; Mwine Mpaka (Mbarara City), Diana Nyago (Busoga United), Bernard Atiku (Onduparaka FC) and Ronald Mutebi (Bright Stars).

“It's only in an environment like this that we can debate. We can either agree or disagree but I believe this is a good platform for both the clubs and the FA,” Onduparaka FC's Bernard Atiku said.

Other officials who attended the meeting include; Mwine Mpaka (Mbarara City FC), Hannington Muhanguzi (MYDA FC), Ronald Barete (BUL FC), Aggrey Ashaba (KCCA FC), Shawn Mubiru (SC Villa), Hassan Lule (Wakiso Giants FC), Reuben Mubiru (Kyetume FC), Moses Kaduyu (URA FC), George Mulindwa (Vipers SC), Francis Kidega (Police FC) and Florence Nakiwala (Express FC).

Tempa Nadh admits she is still excited about her fantastic breakthrough in her refereeing career after officiating at many football competitions on the continent and the global stage. 

The 47-year-old, who hailed from the Benin Republic enjoyed an incredible journey in refereeing since officiating her first international match in 2003 before she decided to call time on her career in 2017.

During her 14-year stint, the Beninese international referee officiated at six Africa Women's Cup of Nations, two Olympic Games and six Women's World Cup tournaments, including an U20 event.
 
Besides serving as an assistant referee, her major career highlights were officiating the 2003 Africa Games football final and third-place tie between Germany and Japan at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

And the 2007 Beninese Football Oscars award nominee, attributed her success to her determination while opening up on the rough path to achieving her dreams.

"I used to watch football on TV when I was a child. There was hardly any women’s football in Benin and I played with the boys when I was at school," she told Fifa.com.

"It was really tough, though, and I soon gave up. And then, when I grew up, I saw that women were refereeing games.

"People didn’t think it was right and even my family refused to support me. It was really hard. In the end, the coach suggested to me that I referee the team’s matches in training.

"I didn’t know anything about the laws of the game, so I just did what I could. Everyone shouted at me. I was refereeing all on my own. There were no assistants.

"That’s when I really started to learn the laws of the game. When I was doing the course, I put into practice all the things I learned on the pitch and I trained with the male referees. 

"They were very happy to see a brave woman come and join them. You got stones thrown at you and people coming on to the pitch screaming and shouting and even getting physically violent.

"It was when I started training with Lions de l’Atacora, a local men’s team, that I really began to believe in my abilities. Physically, I could keep up with the men and the coach congratulated me on that."

Ndah finally caught the eye at the continental games at Nigeria 2003 after eight years and was rewarded with her maiden appearance on the global stage at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The former professional hairdresser recounted her debut officiating at international level and the best moments during her active days: "It was absolutely amazing. I was very proud to be representing my country and Africa in front of the whole world. 

"I learned so much just by being around other match officials from all over the world. I have lots of great memories, but if I had to pick one out, it would have to be the match for third place between Germany and Japan at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (a 2-0 win for the Germans)."

Having hanged her whistle, the former referee turned instructor opened up on her biggest motivation during her career and efforts to develop the next generation of female referees in the Benin Republic.

"I retired in 2017 to become a referee instructor," she continued. "I was still in shape but I wanted to make way for the youngsters, to give others the opportunity that I’d had and to devote my energies to the development of women’s and African refereeing.

"To see women making their way in the game. Women’s football took a while to get going in Africa and it hasn’t developed as quickly as elsewhere. 

"That’s why, in my eyes, there’s no better sight than a woman with a ball at her feet or a whistle in her mouth.  Women who play sport can only become even more intelligent and dynamic. 

"It also helps them to break free, travel, discover things and make friends. Real change is happening here in Benin. The example I set has inspired lots of girls who have met with me and spoken to me. 

"I give training courses and we talk a lot. The best piece of advice I can give them is to not lose heart and to work hard towards their objectives.

"They also need to ignore people who think that women in Africa are only there to have children and cook."

Liverpool will be at full strength when they return to Premier League action in Sunday's Merseyside derby, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed.

The Reds will resume their 2019-20 campaign when they take on Everton at an empty Goodison Park this weekend.

Klopp's men can move to within just three points of domestic glory if they secure all three points against the Toffees, as they currently sit 22 points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table.

Liverpool were relentless in their pursuit of a first league title in 30 years before the coronavirus pandemic stopped play in March, picking up 27 wins from their opening 29 fixtures.

They will be expected to maintain those high standards in their final nine games, and Klopp has revealed that he has no injury concerns ahead of the short trip across Merseyside.

Pressed on how quickly his squad got back up to speed after over two months away from the training pitch, the Liverpool boss told the club's official website: “We had the normal things, I would say, after a long break, but I am not sure it has anything to do with that.

"It was just that we trained and things can happen – and we played as well and things can happen.

“In the moment, nobody really is ruled out for Sunday, but we have to see. A few trained more, a few trained less, most trained all [sessions], so that’s good news and in the end, we will have a good team on the pitch, 100 per cent.”

Reigning champions City blew Liverpool's hopes of clinching the title at Goodison when they beat Arsenal 3-0 at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Reds will now target a June 24 showdown with Crystal Palace at Anfield as their coronation date, with celebrations set to take place behind closed doors due to the continued threat of Covid-19.

It is not yet known when supporters will be allowed back into grounds across the country, and Klopp has suggested Liverpool's parade can wait until social distancing restrictions have been eased next season.

He told Sky Germany earlier this month: "When someone has found the vaccine, when someone has found a solution to the problem, when infection rates are zero or below – that day will come eventually. Then we have the right to celebrate what we want to celebrate on that day.

"If this is the 12th or 13th matchday of next season and we want to celebrate it, who is going to stop it?"

Kenya defender Musa Mohammed has revealed he is close to extending his stay with Nkana FC.

The former Gor Mahia defender is currently a free agent after his two-year contract with the Zambian giants ended in June. However, Mohammed has now revealed he has enjoyed his stay at Nkana and could extend his contract soon.

“I could renew my deal at Nkana,” Mohammed is quoted by Nairobi News. “I have enjoyed my stay at Nkana and even though we did not win titles over there, we had some great success especially in the continental matches.

“Life in Zambia and Kenya is almost the same and the club is professionally run. Other clubs have shown interest in my services and we have had some negotiations. I have an elaborate decision to make on the way forward. I hope to have some news soon.”

Tanzanian giants Young Africans (Yanga SC) are among the clubs that have reportedly shown a keen interest to sign the defender.

In a previous interview, Mohammed confirmed to Goal that Yanga had already made contact with his agent over a possible transfer to the Jangwani Street-based giants.

“Yanga are still negotiating with my agent and so we can just wait and see how the talks will proceed. It is just my hope everything will turn positive,” Mohammed told Goal.

At Nkana, the central defender was parading alongside other Kenyan stars including former AFC Leopards captain Duncan Otieno, former Gor Mahia captain Harun Shakava and Duke Abuya, who joined in January 2020.

Mohammed featured for K'Ogalo from 2010 to 2017 before moving to Albania for a short stint with KF Tirana. When he ended his contract with the European club, he returned home before moving to Zambia in 2018.

Mohammed’s statement comes a few days after Abuya revealed his happiness at being turned into a midfielder from a defender at Nkana.

Abuya, who signed for the Zambian club on a two-year deal in January 2020 from Kariobangi Sharks, has become a regular starter for the side but playing in an unfamiliar role, where he has effectively partnered with another Kenyan player, Duncan Otieno.

David Luiz's agent Kia Joorabchian has insisted that the Arsenal's defender's future will be "resolved this week".

Luiz is set to drop into the free agency pool at the end of the month, and Arsenal have yet to decide whether or not to tie him down to fresh terms.

The Brazilian's chances of earning a new deal were damaged on Wednesday as the Gunners suffered a 3-0 defeat away at Manchester City.

The 33-year-old came on for the injured Pablo Mari early in the first half, and his mistake allowed Raheem Sterling to open the scoring just before the interval. Luiz was then sent off in the 49th minute for fouling Riyad Mahrez in the area, which allowed Kevin de Bruyne to double to home side's lead from the spot.

Phil Foden added gloss to the result in stoppage time, and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher was scathing in his assessment of Luiz's performance post-match.

The ex-Liverpool defender suggested Luiz might have played his last game for Arsenal, but Joorabchian has jumped to the defence of his client.

The agent told Talksport of the Gunners centre-back's current position at Emirates Stadium: “The contract situation has dragged on not because of any reason, not because of the will of either Arsenal or David to finalise, but really because of the situation that occurred with this pandemic.

“Now it becomes a moment where you’ve got 14 days left [until the deadline] and you’re at a critical point of your career, where you’d probably three or four years left at the very top level, so that’s obviously at the back of your mind.

“That’s not an excuse for yesterday’s performance, but you are playing one of the best teams in England and Arsenal’s lack of control on the game would have put pressure on the defence. David wanted to have a different type of game.

“What I can tell you is the situation from Arsenal’s point of view will be resolved this week. Jun 22 is the deadline for most of the clubs to finish the season and beyond, irrespective of any other situation.

“It’s a case of allowing Arsenal to sort out everything that needs to be sorted out during this pandemic. There are several issues within the whole structure that will get resolved.”

Joorabchian added on Carragher's comments: “I spoke with David last night. These things happen in a game, and I’m not defending any situation but David is a guy who has won 20 trophies in his career, including the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Europa League and the Champions League.

“He’s won everything in Portugal and France too, so he’s a guy with a lot of experience and played under [Rafa] Benitez, [Maurizio] Sarri, [Antonio] Conte, [Jose] Mourinho, Unai [Emery] and now Mikel [Arteta].

“If you speak to all those top coaches, especially coaches like Benitez, who had worked with [Jamie] Carragher and David, and ask him who he’d choose first, I think he’d pick David all day long.

“Everybody can make a mistake, but I think it’s very important when you do make a mistake you come out and say sorry and hold your hands up. Arsenal have a lot of young players and it’s an incredible thing for those guys to see such an experienced guy with so many trophies to do something like that.”

Real Madrid have confirmed that Isco has sustained a hamstring injury, which makes him a major doubt for Thursday's clash with Valencia.

Isco was an unused substitute during Madrid's 3-1 home win over Eibar on Sunday, which marked their first game back following the three-month coronavirus-enforced break in the season.

The 28-year-old hasn't featured for Zinedine Zidane's side since their 2-0 victory over Barcelona on March 1, and his wait to get back on the pitch now looks likely to be extended for a significant period.

Madrid have released an official statement confirming Isco has suffered damage to his right thigh ahead of Valencia's arrival at Santiago Bernabeu.

"Following the tests carried out today on our player Isco Alarcon by Real Madrid's medical department, he has been diagnosed with a hamstring injury to his right thigh," the statement published on the club's website read. "His recovery will continue to be assessed."

Madrid could also be without Isco for Sunday's trip to the Anoeta to face Real Sociedad, as the fixture list starts piling up heading into the business end of the campaign.

Zidane's men must keep winning to stay within touch of La Liga leaders Barca, who currently hold a five-point lead at the top of the table. Real can reduce that gap back to two if they win their game in hand against Valencia, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Levante at Mestalla last Friday.

Barca are targeting a third successive top-flight crown, but Sergio Ramos has stressed that the entire Madrid squad are ready to "give it everything" in their bid to dethrone Quique Setien's men.

The Madrid captain told reporters after the win over Eibar: "We've got 10 more finals. We worked hard over the last few weeks to come back and to keep the form that maybe we've lost over the last couple of months."

Zidane will also still have his sights set on the fourth Champions League crown of his managerial career, as the Blancos look ahead to a last-16 second-leg meeting with Manchester City in August.

The competition will be completed over the course of 16 days in Lisbon, and the Madrid boss has embraced the new format brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Manchester United have pledged to donate to anti-racism organisation Kick it Out if fans choose to get Black Lives Matter printed on the back of their shirts.

Premier League clubs agreed unanimously that players would have Black Lives Matter on the back of their shirts instead of their names when the league restarted. United players' shirts will have the printing on the back of them for their first game against Tottenham on Friday.

The club are offering the service for fans to have the same words on the back of their shirts for £10, and have committed to donating all proceeds from any shirt printing to Kick it Out.

Richard Arnold, the club's managing director, said: “Manchester United has a long-standing commitment against racism and discrimination, both through our own campaigns and through support of external organisations working in this area.

“We wanted to take this from being a valuable message of support to real tangible help for the essential work that Kick It Out do in this area.”

The Premier League restarted on Wednesday and players from all four teams involved in the two opening games took a knee just after kick-off to make a stand against racism, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer backed his players taking similar action.

“We all know this [racism] shouldn't happen in 2020 and players, Premier League teams, we all make a stand and say enough is enough, that's good and I don't expect anything different,” Solskjaer said.

“I feel now maybe this time finally is changing and it's been on the agenda now for many many years, this issue of racism and we've had a couple of instances, talked about it, maybe forgotten but this time hopefully it will affect more people, leader of countries and decision makers but we all support the actions.”

Speaking about United’s decision to donate to Kick it Out, chair of the charity Sanjay Bhandari, said: “We are incredibly grateful for this support from Manchester United. There remains much to be done to combat discrimination and promote inclusion."

The Premier League resumed on Wednesday with a goalless draw between Aston Villa and Sheffield United, before Manchester City defeated Arsenal 3-0.

Liverpool loanee Taiwo Awoniyi is hopeful he can get to play for the Super Eagles as his career progresses.

The 22-year old on loan at Mainz, is yet to make the step into the senior national team having impressed at youth level.

He was part of the successful Golden Eaglets team that won the 2013 Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Isaac Success and Francis Uzoho now integrated into the senior team.

Awoniyi was also in the Flying Eagles team that lifted the 2015 African Under-20 Championship in Senegal.

"I think it is every player's dream to play for his national team," he told Tribalfootball.

"But still you can't control it and Nigeria is blessed with abundance of football talents everywhere.

Awoniyi admits he has not been in touch with coach Gernor Rohr and will keep working hard to impress the German tactician.

"No. I have never spoken with Gernot Rohr," he continued.

"That's why I'm a football player and have represented my country in all age grades national teams from the U17 to U23 teams.

"It is good for me to be working hard towards meeting that target."

Awoniyi has played 12 times for Mainz this season, scoring once which came in a 2-2 draw against Cologne at the Bundesliga restart.

He had a big scare last weekend when he suffered a Concussion after clashing with Felix Uduokhai in the game with Augsburg at Opel Arena. Awoniyi had to be substituted off in the 23rd minute with Karim Onisiwo replacing him.

The Ilorin-born player has already regained consciousness but was left out of the Mainz team that shocked Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday night, Jonathan Burkardt and Franco-Congolese striker Jean-Philippe Mateta (penalty) getting the goals.

"You just have to believe, in life everything is possible two more fight to win," Awoniyi posted on Instagram.

Mainz are five points clear of the relegation play-off spot and will wrap up their season at home to 17th-placed Werder Bremen this Saturday and away at Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena on June 27.

Jose Mourinho is frustrated he cannot call on Dele Alli for Tottenham's big clash with Manchester United on Friday.

England midfielder Alli must serve a one-match ban for a racially insensitive social media post he made in February, forcing him to miss Spurs' first game since the Premier League returned.

A video on Snapchat showed Alli in an airport mocking an Asian man in reference to coronavirus, before the lockdown. Alli said he videoed the man because he was coughing, not because of his ethnicity and admitted he made an "extremely poorly judged joke".

According to Mourinho, others have avoided punishment despite committing more serious misconduct during the pandemic.

Mourinho said in a news conference, held by video link on Thursday: "I feel very, very sorry that Dele is not playing. He is a player that works so, so hard during all this period and he's really frustrated that he cannot play the first match.

"I don't want to say much more than I don't think he deserves a one-match ban compared with wrong behaviours at much bigger dimensions that happened during this period without any consequences.”

The video posted by Alli showed him wearing a protective facemask in an airport and was entitled "Corona whattt, please listen with volume". It cut to the gentleman, who appeared to be unaware he was being filmed, before panning to a bottle of antiseptic handwash.

Underneath, a caption read: "This virus gunna have to be quicker than that to catch me."

The 24-year-old deleted the video and posted an apology to the Chinese social media network Weibo.

Mourinho, who is preparing to face his former club, can recall England captain Harry Kane after a long injury lay-off, and that may allay the blow of losing Alli.

Asked how Tottenham would shape up without Alli, Mourinho said: “How are we going to play? I’m not going to tell you.”

He said of his main striker: "Kane hasn't played football for more than six months, so again he is working extremely well. I can tell you no problem he is going to start the game.

"Does Harry have 90, 80, 70, 60 minutes in him? Only the game will tell us that. Is Harry on his top form? For him, I don't know. It's been around six months without a football match, but he works extremely well. He is an amazing professional and he's going to start tomorrow."

The latest round of coronavirus testing in the Premier League has found one positive case. 

A total of 1,541 players and staff from clubs were involved in the ninth round, staged across Monday and Tuesday of this week. 

The league announced on Thursday that one person tested positive for Covid-19 and they will now self-isolate for a period of seven days. As with all previous rounds of testing, the person was kept anonymous and the club they work for was not disclosed.

The English top-flight returned behind closed doors in the gap between those tests being carried out and the results being released, with two games taking place on Wednesday. 

After Aston Villa's 0-0 draw with Sheffield United, in which the visitors were controversially denied a clear goal at Villa Park, Manchester City beat Arsenal 3-0 at home. 

For the game between City and Arsenal, the only people allowed inside the 55,000-capacity Etihad Stadium were around 300 temperature-checked members of the media, club staff and security, who ensured the strict safety measures, such as face masks and social distancing, were adhered to at all times.

There was a reminder of just how much things of changed in the past three months before the game with a minute's silence for the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic while players' shirts were adorned with a blue heart-shaped logo to pay tribute to the NHS. 

"It’s weird, we missed the people," City manager Pep Guardiola admitted in a virtual press conference after the match. "Playing without people is strange, we have to do it right now, the government say we have to but we have to be careful, we cannot relax.

"We are tested twice a week, social distance with masks and we do all we can to be protected."

Since the first batch of testing between May 17 and 18, which yielded six positive tests from a sample size of 748, the highest return was four from 1,008 people from round three, which was held across May 25 and 26.

It is a better outcome than the most recent round of testing in the second-tier Championship, where on Wednesday it was announced eight people from six clubs have tested positive, three days before the league is scheduled to resume.

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 changed life as we know it and football has not been immune, with the beautiful game being ground to a halt across the world.

The game's administrators, from FIFA to continental confederations and national associations, worked together in an attempt salvage what they could of the 2019-20 season.

Space was made in the calendar with the postponement of the European Championship and Copa America until next year, which allowed leagues to restart in earnest in June. 

But there are other issues to contend with too, including the business of transfers.

The buying and selling of players during transfer windows is one of the most hotly anticipated processes of the sport, with clubs eager to boost their options or offload proverbial dead wood.

In these extraordinary circumstances, FIFA conceded that changes would have to be made to the normal schedule regarding transfer registration periods and contracts. 

So, with coronavirus-enforced delays in mind, when will the summer transfer window open? Goal brings you everything you need to know.

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When will the Premier League summer transfer window open?

The 2020 summer transfer window in England is expected to open on Sunday July 26, as soon as the Premier League season ends.

While there has been no official confirmation of the transfer window close date, UEFA has urged all member associations to adopt a harmonised closure on Monday October 5.

The English transfer window was originally set to open on June 10, closing on September 1, so it will effectively be pushed back a month.

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When will La Liga summer transfer window open?

In Spain, the summer transfer window should open when La Liga finishes, which means it will be on or after July 18.

As mentioned, UEFA's recommended date for closing the transfer window is October 5.

The registration period had previously been set to open on July 1, 2020, closing on September 1. 

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When will Serie A summer transfer window open?

Serie A will conclude the 2019-20 season on August 2, but the transfer window will not open in Italy until Tuesday September 1, which was around when the original window was due to close.

While there will be a gap between action ending and business allowed to officially take place, it is expected that a number of deals will be confirmed before the beginning of the window.

The transfer window will then close on October 5, in line with UEFA's recommendation.

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When will the Bundesliga summer transfer window open?

Considering the Bundesliga will conclude by the end of June, the summer transfer window for Germany could still open from July 1 and run until August 31 as normal.

Indeed, Chelsea confirmed that Timo Werner will join the Blues from RB Leipzig in July.

However, given the state of play across Europe, it remains unclear if the original window period will be observed and it is possible that Germany will fall into line with UEFA's suggestion to harmonise the close date.

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When will the Ligue 1 summer transfer window open?

Unlike Europe's other top leagues, Ligue 1 made a decision early to cut the 2019-20 season short and, thus, French football observed their previously agreed transfer window opening date of June 10.

It is restricted to domestic deals, but it seems highly unlikely that France will be able to keep its window open until October 5. Instead, the previously confirmed date of September 1 is likely to be observed.

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Mamelodi Sundowns defender Anele Ngcongca says he is still open to a move back to Europe, saying he is in contact with some people in Belgium.

The Masandawana right-back, however, says he wouldn’t like to see his children growing up in an unfamiliar environment because he is a family man now.

Ngcongca played for Belgian side RKC Genk for almost a decade and he explains that seeing his name in the list for the Belgian Pro League's team of the decade humbles him.

“To be honest, I can’t close that door. I’ve been in touch with people in Belgium, even those teams that are in the second division. They have been asking about my situation,” Ngcongca told IO L .

“I also saw an article in a Belgian website linking me with a move back to the country. If there’s something concrete, why not. As long as we will agree on terms.

“At my age, it is no longer only about me but also about my family. I have to start to plan for life after football. I’m currently working on a few projects. We play until a certain age and then what do you do next? The lockdown has offered me an opportunity to reflect.”

Although he recently extended his stay with the reigning Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions, Ngcongca says being loyal is something that defines his personality.

“I’ve only played for two teams in top-flight football because, in France, I was on loan. But they also wanted to give me another year. I like to be loyal. I prefer to settle in one place. If I look at my position, I believe two years [in Europe] will be fine, I’m not getting any younger,” he added.

“I’m a family man and there are kids involved. You don’t want to start another life in an unfamiliar environment.

“It’s been the second time now that I’ve been in the Team of the Decade. It is very humbling. A boy coming from Gugulethu being recognized abroad, it is something huge."

The experienced player has made 28 appearances across all competitions for Sundowns this season which has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic since last March.

Ngcongca, who was part of the Bafana Bafana squad at the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals, joined Masandawana from Genk in 2016 following a loan spell with the French side Troyes AC.