Manchester City made light work of Burnley last night, as Pep Guardiola's side hit the Clarets for five at the Etihad. Phil Foden opened and closed the scoring on a rare Premier League start, with a Riyad Mahrez brace and a David Silva goal completing a 5-0 win. A bad night for Burnley was made worse by events off the pitch, after a plane flew a banner saying 'White Lives Matter Burnley' over the Etihad ahead of kick-off. The Clarets later released an official statement vowing to ban those responsible for life, while afterwards club captain Ben Mee said he was "ashamed and embarrassed" by the incident. There are two more top flight fixtures tonight with Leicester at home to Brighton (kick-off 6pm) before relegation-threatened West Ham travel to play rivals Tottenham (8.15pm).
Meanwhile in his column this morning Gerry Thornley has looked at rugby's "shameful" history with racism, and the sport's relationship with apartheid-era South Africa. This comes after Adam Byrne, Linda Djougang and Simon Zebo all spoke powerfully about the Black Lives Matter movement and their experiences of racism in Ireland. He writes: "There's lots that can be done and one thing is for sure, rugby's history with South Africa's apartheid regime gives lie to the notion that sport and politics don't mix. It also leaves the sport with profound sins for which to atone, here included."
Elsewhere this morning the Italia 90 nostalgia trip continues, with Paul Howard recalling the time he went to meet Daniel Timofte, the man who missed the penalty which sent Romania crashing out and Ireland into the World Cup quarter-finals. Packie Bonner was Ireland's hero as he saved the crucial spot-kick - for Timofte, things would never quite be the same again: "I felt like the whole world had come down on my head," he said. "I let down my team, my country, my people. The other players, they're saying to me not to worry, that anyone can miss a penalty. They say, 'We don't blame you.' But I can't look at my friends in the eyes, so that night I stayed alone."
The 2020 Ryder Cup is set to be postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis. The tournament will still be held at Whistling Straits and will return to "odd years," with Ireland now in line to host the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in 2027, on its 100th anniversary.
And Nascar drivers have united behind Bubba Wallace, after a noose was found in the 26-year-old's garage stall in Alabama on Sunday. Wallace's fellow drivers pushed his number 43 car to the front of the field at Talladega as a show of solidarity. The FBI have launched an investigation into the incident.
