English Premier League returns after 100 days offJune 18, 2020 - 10:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Premier League restart was engulfed in controversy on Wednesday, June 18 when goal-line technology made an unprecedented blunder after players took the knee to protest against racism at both matches, AFP reports. The English top-flight was put on hold in March due to the coronavirus pandemic and all 92 remaining games are being crammed into a six-week period. The first match, between Aston Villa and Sheffield United, finished goalless and Manchester City won the later game against 10-man Arsenal 3-0. Before kick-off, in front of a huge global audience, players and staff protested racial injustice for about 10 seconds in solidarity with worldwide demonstrations following the death of American George Floyd. "In the first Premier League fixture of Project Restart both clubs hope that the act of 'taking a knee' will send a strong message of unity," the clubs said in a joint statement. Manchester City and Arsenal players mirrored the protest before kick-off at the Etihad. All players will wear the words "Black Lives Matter" (BLM) on the back of their shirts where names are normally printed for the first 12 matches of the restart. Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine |