The English Premier League returns tonight, first with Aston Villa v Sheffield United at 6pm and then Manchester City host Arsenal at 8.15pm. Both games are on Sky Sports. "Welcome to 92 live games in six summer weeks, to deserted stands, video walls and the strangling of the post-match quotes industry. Welcome to the new abnormal normal. And yet for all the disquiet in getting to the start line, it is impossible not to feel fascinated by the prospect." Here in Ireland the FAI will today resume their efforts to secure an agreement with clubs to get the Airtricity League up and running again. There may be an attempt to compress the proposed conclusion of the season so that it starts in early August then ends in late October or early November. The FAI is also hoping to be allowed sell almost 18,500 tickets for its game against Finland in the event that Uefa confirms a September kick-off for the second edition of the Nations League.
Darragh Ó Sé's weekly column returns today and he explains why a Kingdom without football is very hard to get your head around (Subscriber only): "As we sit here now, it looks like we're going to get some games after all. The appetite for games is huge. The first Junior B game will be an all-ticket affair. When the inter-county stuff starts up, we'll be wearing heavier coats and woollier hats but that's no hardship either." The GAA has announced plans for its 2020 Cúl Camps and a television series build-up on TG4. Camps will start on 20th July, which is Phase 4 of the lockdown relaxation schedule. As long as the Government maintain the two-metre ruling on social distancing it will not make any financial sense for the IRFU, the provinces or the ground controllers to open the Aviva Stadium to rugby spectators on match days. Gerry Thornley explains why rugby needs matchday spectators more than soccer does, and "as two-metre distancing would restrict the capacity to 8,200, the ensuing gate receipts would scarcely, if even, cover the costs of opening the stadium." The IRFU will begin a programme of testing players and staff from Leinster and Munster on Wednesday for Covid-19 in advance of their return to training in their respective High Performance Centres next Monday.
Aidan O'Brien's top middle-distance older horse, Japan, will be widely expected to hit the ground running in Royal Ascot's Day Two feature, the Prince Of Wales's Stakes. The first day of racing's most famously social event took place in an uncanny atmosphere replete with the extensive restrictions that have come depressingly familiar due to coronavirus. O'Brien's Circus Maximus won a thrilling Queen Anne Stakes - with Ryan Moore getting the better of a true heavyweight clash with his great friend and rival Frankie Dettori in the opening Group One race of the week. In what has been described as bolt from the blue, over 800 betting shops in the country have been told to close due to a public health statutory instrument published last week. Ireland's betting shop sector is seeking urgent clarification from the government about whether or not it will have to remain shut until June 29th.
Meanwhile, Cameroon-born Ireland prop Linda Djougang says Irish society needs to be more willing to learn about others: "When you open your eyes, you see that there is not enough diversity in everything that we do. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable because people will look at you, probably asking, 'what is she doing here?' And that's hard. That is so hard. That's why I tell people, 'try and live in my shoes just for one day and see what it feels like being black, being different'."
