English football, including clubs in the Premier League and Women's Super League, will undertake a three-day social media boycott next week in response to "the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football."

High-profile players such as Manchester United's Marcus Rashford and Lauren James, Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold have reported that they have received racist abuse on social media platforms.

The growing volume of incidents prompted the governing bodies and leagues in English football to write to Twitter and Facebook in February, demanding stricter enforcement of anti-discriminatory regulations.

- Hislop: Football is ideal vehicle to drive social change
- Stream Show Racism The Red Card on ESPN+

Leading figures in the English game remain unsatisfied by the action taken by social media companies, however, and it has been confirmed that a boycott of all platforms will now be imposed to cover the full programme of fixtures next weekend, including Manchester United taking on Liverpool in the Premier League.

"The [Football Association] FA, Premier League, [English Football League] EFL, FA Women's Super League, FA Women's Championship, [Professional Footballers Association] PFA, [League Managers Association] LMA, [Professional Game Match Officials Limited] PGMOL, Kick It Out and the [Football Supporters Association] FSA will unite for a social media boycott from 15.00 [GMT] on Friday April 30 to 23.59 [GMT] on Monday May 3, in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football," a joint statement said.

"This has been scheduled to take place across a full fixture programme in the men's and women's professional game and will see clubs across the Premier League, EFL, WSL and Women's Championship switch off their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

"As a collective, the game recognises the considerable reach and value of social media to our sport. The connectivity and access to supporters who are at the heart of football remains vital.

"However, the boycott shows English football coming together to emphasise that social media companies must do more to eradicate online hate, while highlighting the importance of educating people in the ongoing fight against discrimination.

"In our letter of February 2021, English football outlined its requests of social media companies, urging filtering, blocking and swift takedowns of offensive posts, an improved verification process and re-registration prevention, plus active assistance for law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute originators of illegal content.

"While some progress has been made, we reiterate those requests today in an effort to stem the relentless flow of discriminatory messages and ensure that there are real-life consequences for purveyors of online abuse across all platforms.

"Boycott action from football in isolation will, of course, not eradicate the scourge of online discriminatory abuse, but it will demonstrate that the game is willing to take voluntary and proactive steps in this continued fight.

"Finally, while football takes a stand, we urge the UK Government to ensure its Online Safety Bill will bring in strong legislation to make social media companies more accountable for what happens on their platforms, as discussed at the DCMS [Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] Online Abuse roundtable earlier this week."

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters added that the league will continue to lobby the social media companies to do more to combat the scourge of online abuse.

"Racist behaviour of any form is unacceptable and the appalling abuse we are seeing players receive on social media platforms cannot be allowed to continue," Masters said.

"The Premier League and our clubs stand alongside football in staging this boycott to highlight the urgent need for social media companies to do more in eliminating racial hatred.

"We will not stop challenging social media companies and want to see significant improvements in their policies and processes to tackle online discriminatory abuse on their platforms.

"Football is a diverse sport, which brings together communities and cultures from all backgrounds and this diversity makes the competition stronger. No Room For Racism represents all the work we do to promote equality, diversity and inclusion and tackling discrimination."

Chief Executive of the Football Supporters' Association Kevin Miles said: "The Football Supporters' Association is fully behind the game's efforts to stamp out online hate and discrimination and will join next weekend's social media boycott. Much media attention has rightly focused on the vile abuse aimed at players, managers and journalists in the men's and women's game and we see that aimed at fans groups too. It has to stop.

"Many of our most active fan groups tell us that they have received disgusting abuse when they are doing nothing more than trying to represent their supporter base. It's a threat to the very existence of supporter organisations who are run by volunteers in their spare time. As fans we stand with players, managers, referees and all in the game in calling for the social media companies to step up."

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will defend his title Saturday against Jorge Masvidal in the main event of UFC 261 in Jacksonville, Florida. It will be the first UFC card in front of a capacity crowd since before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down spectator sports in March 2020.

ESPN has Usman ranked No. 2 in the world on its best pound-for-pound MMA fighters list. At welterweight, ESPN has Usman at No. 1 and Masvidal at No. 7.

At UFC 251 last year, Usman (18-1) beat Masvidal via unanimous decision in a fairly one-sided bout. But Masvidal came into that fight on just six days' notice after Usman's initially scheduled opponent, Gilbert Burns, tested positive for the coronavirus. Usman, 33, is looking for his fourth straight title defense and his 14th straight UFC victory.

If Usman, a Nigeria native who trains out of Colorado, were to win Saturday he alone would have the second-longest winning streak in UFC history. Currently, Usman is tied with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones with 13 straight victories. Only Anderson Silva has more consecutive wins in UFC history (16).

Masvidal (35-14) is one of the biggest stars on the UFC roster. The Miami native was on a three-fight winning streak before falling to Usman last year. In 2019, Masvidal knocked out Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in a span of eight months to become one of the hottest MMA athletes in the world. The latter was for the mythical BMF title at Madison Square Garden. Masvidal, 36, has been a pro fighter for almost 18 years but has just recently become one of the most popular MMA athletes in the world.

In the co-main event, Zhang Weili defends her UFC women's strawweight title against former champion Rose Namajunas. Zhang (21-1) has not lost since her pro debut eight years ago, while Namajunas (9-4) has won four of five. ESPN has Zhang ranked No. 4 on its women's MMA pound-for-pound list. Namajunas is right behind her at No. 5.

UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko will also defend her title against former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 261. Shevchenko (20-3) has never lost at flyweight in the UFC and has been defeated by only one woman since joining the promotion: bantamweight and featherweight champ Amanda Nunes. Andrade (21-8) has won five of her past seven fights, including a first-round TKO victory over Katlyn Chookagian last October in her flyweight debut. On ESPN's women's pound-for-pound list, Shevchenko is No. 2 and Andrade is No. 6.

Follow along with Brett Okamoto, Marc Raimondi and Jeff Wagenheim as they recap the action as it happens or watch UFC 261 on ESPN+ PPV.

Fight in progress:

Men's featherweight: Patrick Sabatini (13-3, 0-0 UFC, -240) vs. Tristan Connelly (14-6, 1-0 UFC, +200)

Results:

Men's bantamweight: Danaa Batgerel (9-2, 2-1 UFC) defeats Kevin Natividad (9-3, 0-2 UFC) by first-round TKO

The fight was not yet a minute old, and Natividad was determined to be the aggressor. He got clipped by a right hook, but he kept coming. And got clipped -- and finished -- with another hook, this one a Batgerel left hand.

Batgerel, a 31-year-old Mongolian who fights out of Jackson Wink MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was backing up when he landed the telling shot, and Natividad fell to his knees, where he took another shot from Batgerel that put him on his back, defenseless. At that point referee Herb Dean jumped in, waving off the bout as a TKO at 50 seconds.

Danaa Batgerel's left hook is nasty ?

Stream #UFC261 on ESPN+ ➡️ https://t.co/11j8ptNbRf pic.twitter.com/3c1AzpJrfi

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 24, 2021

For Batgerel, it was his second win in a row after he'd dropped his UFC debut in 2019.

Natividad, who is 28 and a native of Hawaii, trains in Tempe, Arizona. He has lost two in a row since joining the UFC in October riding a five-fight winning streak.

-- Wagenheim

Watch this fight on ESPN+.

Lightweight: Kazula Vargas (12-4, 1-2 UFC) defeats Rong Zhu (17-4, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision

A 10-year veteran of MMA, Vargas has been fighting professionally for nearly half of Rong's entire life -- and that experience showed in their three-round matchup.

Vargas, of Mexico City, defeated the 21-year-old prospect by unanimous decision, via official scores of 30-26, 29-28 and 29-28. Rong, who entered the bout as the youngest fighter on the UFC roster, definitely flashed some of the potential that has earned him a spot in the UFC, but he showed some inexperience as well.

Wait ...30-26??

— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) April 24, 2021

Originally from Tibet, Rong got off to a very inactive start. According to UFC Stats, Vargas attempted more than 100 strikes in the opening round, while Rong failed to attempt even half as many. As Rong looked to be more aggressive in the second round, he fell into a deep guillotine attempt that nearly ended the fight.

Vargas continued to show his mettle in the final round, although Rong's power visibly affected him. He was staggered in the center of the Octagon by a long right hand, and spent most of the round keeping Rong at bay with his jab and footwork. Late in the fight, Rong showed his frustration by pointing to the ground and throwing a questionably late elbow.

It's a big win for Vargas, who came into the bout with a 1-2 record in the UFC. Rong loses his UFC debut and suffers his first loss since 2018.

-- Okamoto

Watch this fight on ESPN+.

Flyweight: Jeffrey Molina (9-2, 1-0 UFC) defeats Aori Qileng (15-7, 0-1 UFC) by unanimous decision

Qileng was absolutely relentless, pressing forward for the better of three rounds. But Molina showed that just because a fighter is moving ahead and pressuring does not mean he is winning the fight.

Molina was able to weather every Qileng storm en route to a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27) victory. Finally, in the third round, Qileng slowed down a bit and Molina capitalized with a barrage of hard punching combinations. Qileng got a second wind and rocked Molina at the end of the third, but the win was already wrapped up.

"He's tough as nails," Molina said in his postfight interview. "I felt like the jitters were real. But I got over them."

Aoriqileng and @jmolina_125 just put on a show! ?

Stream #UFC261 on ESPN+ ➡️ https://t.co/11j8ptNbRf pic.twitter.com/bhFrgtXMb2

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) April 24, 2021

It was an extremely entertaining fight. Molina and Qileng had big exchanges in the first round. In the second, Molina dropped Qileng twice with punches, one right at the end of the round. Qileng dropped Molina once in the second and once at the end of the third.

The third is when Molina fully took over. Molina countered Qileng punches as he was coming and finally slowed Qileng down, putting on the pace himself with big boxing combinations. Qileng ate all those shots and still managed to mount offense at the end of the round. But Molina did enough.

Molina, 23, has now won eight straight. This was his UFC debut. The Glory MMA product was coming off a win over Jacob Silva on Dana White's Contender Series last August. Qileng, a 27-year-old Mongolia native, had a six-fight winning streak snapped. This was also his debut in the UFC.

-- Raimondi

Watch this fight on ESPN+.

Strawweight: Ariane Carnelossi (13-2, 1-1 UFC) defeats Liang Na (9-5, 0-1 UFC) by second-round TKO

What a way to start the night. The fans who arrived early for the first fight card with a capacity crowd in over a year were treated to one of the greatest rounds in UFC history. It was back-and-forth danger for five minutes, starting with Liang getting a knockdown with her first punch -- a right hand to the chin seconds into the fight -- and then being dropped herself moments later during an exchange at center cage, with the still-sparse crowd roaring its approval.

From there, the fighters traded punches and grappling advantages for five high-gear minutes. Liang appeared a step ahead early on, seizing control on the canvas and landing damaging blows, but Carnelossi reversed position and went for an armbar, only to have Liang reverse back into control and into an armbar of her own.

What a first fight #UFC261 ????

— Amanda Nunes (@Amanda_Leoa) April 24, 2021

It was honestly tough to keep track of all the telling blows and positions. But the round ended with Carnelossi in side control, landing left hand after left hand, undefended. Referee James Folsom implored Liang to fight back. But then the horn sounded.

Liang just lay there until one of her cornermen came and got her, helping her to her stool. She looked finished. And she essentially was. Carnelossi took her to the canvas early in Round 2 and began landing blows again, which again were undefended. And Folsom stepped in at 1:28 to end it.

Carnelossi, who is 28 and from Brazil, got back on track after losing her UFC debut to Angela Hill in 2019, ending a 12-fight winning streak. Liang, a 24-year-old from China, saw a four-fight winning streak end in her UFC debut.

-- Wagenheim

Watch this fight on ESPN+.

Still to come:

Welterweight title fight: Kamaru Usman (c) (18-1, 13-0 UFC, -450) vs. Jorge Masvidal (35-14, 12-7 UFC, +350)
Strawweight title fight: Zhang Weili (c) (21-1, 5-0 UFC, -200) vs. Rose Namajunas (10-4, 7-3 UFC, +170)
Women's flyweight title fight: Valentina Shevchenko (c) (20-3, 9-2 UFC, -470) vs. Jessica Andrade (21-8, 12-6 UFC, +360)
Middleweight: Uriah Hall (17-9, 9-7 UFC, +105 ) vs. Chris Weidman (15-5, 11-5 UFC, -125)
Light heavyweight: Anthony Smith (34-16, 9-6 UFC, +170) vs. Jimmy Crute (12-1, 4-1 UFC, -200)
Welterweight: Alex Oliveira (22-9-1, 11-7-1 UFC, +125) vs. Randy Brown (12-4, 6-4 UFC, -150)
Welterweight: Dwight Grant (10-3, 2-2 UFC, -220) vs. Stefan Sekulic (12-3, 0-1 UFC, +180)
Middleweight: Karl Roberson (9-3, 4-3 UFC, +145) vs. Brendan Allen (15-4, 3-1 UFC, -160)

Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford tested positive for the coronavirus, but results have shown to be inconclusive, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Clifford could coach the Magic's next game against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night if he tests negative twice prior to tip-off.

Clifford has been vaccinated and has been asymptomatic.

HOUSTON -- Astros newcomer Jake Odorizzi exited his start against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday after just five pitches because of tightness in his right forearm.

Odorizzi retired leadoff man David Fletcher on a flyball, grimacing on his final pitch. Catcher Jason Castro went to check on him and quickly motioned to the dugout.

Houston manager Dusty Baker and trainers talked to Odorizzi for a couple of minutes before he was taken out of the game. Kent Emanuel relieved and made his major league debut after seven years in the minors.

Odorizzi got a late start to the season after not signing with the Astros until March 8. His deal guarantees him $20.25 million over two years or $23.5 million over three seasons if a player option is exercised for 2023.

Odorizzi entered the game 0-2 with a 10.57 ERA in two starts this season.

An All-Star in 2019 with the Minnesota Twins, Odorizzi was looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2020 season when he pitched just 13 2/3 innings.

ATLANTA -- Kole Calhoun will always cherish his childhood memory of catching a foul ball hit by Tony Gwynn in spring training.

"I thought that was the coolest thing in the world," the Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder said Saturday.

Now that he's 33 and in his ninth major league season, Calhoun can still appreciate those moments -- especially when he was inches away from watching another kid enjoy a similar highlight.

In the fourth inning of the Diamondbacks' 5-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday night, Calhoun ran toward the stands to try to catch a foul ball hit by Austin Riley. Calhoun reached into the stands, thinking he could make the grab.

Instead, a boy wearing glasses and holding a baseball glove made what Calhoun believed was a very difficult catch near the netting that protects fans.

Calhoun said Saturday he initially wasn't sure if fan interference might be called. But because the ball would have landed in the stands, it was within the fan's rights to catch it.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo left the dugout for a brief consultation with plate umpire Vic Carapazza.

"I know Kole said there was a little bit of a glove wrestling match," Lovullo said Saturday. "... Kole told me he would have had the ball if not for the interaction."

Riley, who earlier hit a two-run homer, got a second chance because of the wayward foul but couldn't take advantage -- he struck out.

Calhoun enjoyed the fan's reaction to the play.

"He was almost surprised the ball landed in his glove," Calhoun said. "... Give him the satisfaction. That was a heck of a play."

After hearing the umpire call it a foul ball, Calhoun gave the fan a fist bump.

"You have to think about where he was sitting," Calhoun said. "He had the net right in front of him so that ball was right on top of him. I felt like he kind of looked at me and right at his glove like, 'Oh, my gosh! I caught it!'"

Added Calhoun: "I just thought it was awesome. That was a heck of a play to make. He just stuck it like no problem."

Calhoun visited the fan again in the eighth inning.

"I told him, 'You realize you're going to be the No. 1 play on SportsCenter tonight,'" Calhoun said. "He looked at me right in the face and said, 'I'm already blowing up on TikTok.'"

Calhoun did not have a hit in the game but still had a highlight to enjoy.

"It brings out the kid in you," he said. "... It kind of brings some perspective. That's why we play the game. That kid is never going to forget that. What a moment for him."

Bahamian 400m runner clocks 49.08 at Continental Tour Gold as British middle-distance runners Laura Muir and Adelle Tracey also enjoy victories

Shaunae Miller-Uibo looks in imperious form ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The 27-year-old from the Bahamas clocked a world lead of 49.08 for 400m at the USATF Grand Prix on Saturday (April 24) – it was just one of a number of top-class performances in the first Continental Tour Gold meeting of the year.

The event was held in cool conditions in an impressively renovated Hayward Field arena which is gearing up to stage the World Championships next year. Miller-Uibo, the Olympic 400m champion, relished the setting, too, as she beat runner-up Lynna Irby of the United States by more than a second with 2017 world champion Phyllis Francis back in seventh.

This is how Shaunae Miller-Uibo set a WL 49.08 in the 400m. pic.twitter.com/gQRKxNPFVn https://t.co/g2frrj6tNu

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) April 24, 2021

Laura Muir also meant business as she opened her outdoor racing campaign this year with a clear-cut win. Blasting through the first 300m in 45 seconds, she was already ahead of the pacemaker and the rest of the field and continued to hold a healthy lead to the finish in 4:01.54 as runner-up Helen Schlachtenhaufen finished almost three seconds behind with former world champion Jenny Simpson in ninth.

Fellow Scot Eilish McColgan enjoyed a similar runaway win as she clocked 14:52.44 in the 5000m to beat Abbey Cooper by 21 seconds as European indoor 3000m champion Amy-Eloise Markovc was third in 15:17.13.

The women’s 800m was much closer as Adelle Tracey scored a narrow victory over fellow Brit Jemma Reekie with 2:03.25 to 2:03.26.

In a cagey race as rain started to fall over Hayward Field, the main contenders were reluctant to go with the pacemaker. This left Reekie in the lead at the bell in 61.7 with her rivals bunching behind her down the back straight as she went through 600m in about 1:34.

In the final 200m burn-up, Reekie kicked from the front and looked set to win but Tracey uncorked an inspired finish to claim first place as American Raevyn Rogers was third and Canadian Melissa Bishop fourth.

The 100m finals saw Blessing Okagbare take the women’s race with 10.97 (1.2) with Britain’s Daryll Neita a fine third in 11.18 in a strong line-up that included, among others, Allyson Felix in seventh.

In the men’s 100m Trayvon Bromell was similarly dominant as he won comfortably in 10.01 (-0.1) with Noah Lyles runner-up in 10.17.

How's that for consistency?@TrayvonBromell runs 10.01 FTW in the men's 100m final. He ran the exact same time to win his prelim earlier today.#ContinentalTour #ContinentalTourGold pic.twitter.com/RxhvgkK08i

— TrackTown USA (@GoTrackTownUSA) April 24, 2021

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico ran 12.46 (-0.3) to win the 100m hurdles in emphatic style from Brittany Anderson’s 12.82. The times were good given the conditions and Sydney McLaughlin, the 400m hurdles specialist, was fourth in 12.86 but ran a PB.

In the men’s 1500m all eyes were on world 800m champion Donavan Brazier but the American was third in 3:37.58 as Australian Ollie Hoare set a strong pace and won in a PB of 3:33.54 as Justyn Knight finished second in 3:35.85.

The much-anticipated showdown in the men’s 400m saw Michael Norman run 44.67 to beat Rai Benjamin’s 44.97 as Britain’s Matt Hudson-Smith was sixth in 45.90.

Earlier in the programme, Rudy Winkler threw a world-leading 81.98m in the hammer. It was the best by a US athlete since 1996 and places him No.2 on the North American all-time rankings.

In the women’s hammer, meanwhile, Brooke Andersen beat fellow American and world champion DeAnna Price with 77.99m.

TALLADEGA, Ala. — During the last three decades, just one driver has won both the ARCA Menards Series race at Daytona Int’l Speedway and the series’ event at Talladega Superspeedway in the same season.

Thanks to Corey Heim Saturday, make it two drivers.

The 18-year-old Heim drove his No. 20 JBL Toyota to victory lane at Talladega in the General Tire 200. It was the Marietta, Ga., driver’s second win of the year, following his triumph in the season-opening event at Daytona. He joined David Keith (2000) as the only driver to sweep the two races in a single season since 1992.

Saturday’s race came down to a sprint on a one-lap restart following a late caution. Heim restarted third with Bret Holmes and Nick Sanchez leading the field to the final green flag. Heim’s Venturini Motorsports teammate, Drew Dollar, immediately ditched the top lane to fall in line behind the No. 20.

The same teamwork that pushed Heim to the win at Daytona did it again at Talladega.

Sanchez, who took the lead entering the Talladega Superstretch after Holmes failed to block his run on the outside, could do nothing to stop the VMS train in his mirror. By the time the field reached the end of the backstretch, Heim was in the lead for good with Dollar in tow.

Dave Mader III, the 65-year-old racing veteran who was making his fifth ARCA Menards Series start at Talladega, pulled off an exhilarating second-place finish after he used a push from Thad Moffitt to get by Sanchez on the final stretch.

Mader, a native of Maylene, Ala., picked up his best ARCA Menards Series finish since he ran second at Talladega in 1991 to the late Charlie Glotzbach.

Sanchez finished third ahead of Dollar in fourth and Holmes in fifth.

Ty Gibbs, who entered Saturday’s race two points behind Heim in the championship standings, was in contention for the win until he was involved in an accident on lap 62.

Contact between Sanchez and Greg Van Alst sent the latter spinning directly into Gibbs’ No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Gibbs finished 27th.

Derrick Lancaster, who finished 23rd after he was involved in a fiery crash with five laps to go, was transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

The finish:

Corey Heim, Dave Mader III, Nick Sanchez, Drew Dollar, Bret Holmes, Thad Moffitt, Andy Jankowiak, Kyle Sieg, Eric Caudell, Scott Melton, Jack Wood, Toni Breidinger, Ed Pompa, Ryan Huff, Jason Kitzmiller, Michael Harper, Thomas Praytor, Bryan Dauzat, D.L. Wilson, Con Nicolopoulos, Benny Chastain, Gracie Trotter, Derrick Lancaster, Tim Richmond, Richard Garvie, Greg Van Alst, Ty Gibbs, John Ferrier, Brad Smith.

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Considering the excessive banking and the blazing speeds it helps create at Bristol Motor Speedway, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series competitors envisioned this week’s Bristol Throwdown would produce a narrow, bottom-dominant racing surface Friday night.

Then, track officials went to work and those predictions were pleasantly defied once Friday’s 25-lap feature unfolded. The top of the track came to life and drivers, namely Aaron Reutzel and Kyle Larson, had enough grip to put on a thrilling show.

During the opening 19 laps, Reutzel rocketed from ninth and into a race for the lead with eventual winner David Gravel. If it wasn’t for Logan Schuchart bringing out the caution with five laps to go, Reutzel may have capped off an epic drive to victory using the high line. Larson, meanwhile, finished sixth after starting 12th.

“The track crew did a phenomenal job, giving us something to race on,” Reutzel said. “There was a lot of hype going into this race. I’m glad the A Main turned out good for them.”

“It was good,” Larson said. “The racing was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. You could run multiple lanes. It was fun.”

There was no indication drives like Reutzel’s or Larson’s would happen. Gravel was a full second faster than the remaining five competitors in the six-lap dash using the bottom and in clean air.

Then the complexion turned for the better after track workers applied water around the top of the track. Reutzel ended up roughly three tenths faster than Gravel, who set a track record during qualifying, toward the later stages of the night around the top groove.

It was Tyler Courtney and Donny Schatz, though, who showed everyone the high side would work. In a backup car, Courtney raced from eighth to fifth in the B Main using the top to transfer into the main event. Schatz, on the other hand, was the first of the leaders to try the top.

Reutzel saw Schatz made it stick early on, prompting him to move up.

“It was better than expected,” said Schatz, who finished fifth. “I guess we had a little inclination of what it would be like,but everything has held up so well.”

“It’s quite surprising, really,” Schatz added. “Hats off to those guys. They had a great race track. There were guys moving around.”

Once the top of the track established itself, the bottom still had good speed, making third-place finisher Carson Macedo think about how he’d have to attack the track.

“I didn’t know where to be for parts of the race and that kind of hurt me a little bit,” Macedo said. “And then Aaron drove by me on the top.”

Paul McMahan, one of the few drivers who competed in the last World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2001, started fourth and faded to ninth because he didn’t expect the track to be that wide.

“No, I didn’t,” McMahan said. “I thought it was going to be follow-the-leader. That’s where I made all my mistakes. I was anticipating that and didn’t get up to the top fast enough. The track is in great shape. I think it put on a great race for the fans. It was the total opposite of what I thought it was going to be like. Really excited to come back.”

Interaction on social media was positive, too. NASCAR Cup Series driver and open-wheel dirt ringer Christopher Bell tweeted approval for Friday’s show.

“What an amazing night of racing at Bristol Motor Speedway,” Bell wrote. “Thank you for an awesome product. Great surface and great drivers putting on an amazing show at incredible speeds. Can’t wait for tomorrow!”

“That’s what it’s here for,” said Schatz in regard to the positive reaction from fans and figures in motorsports.

“I think it’s a big win for our sport,” Gravel said. “I feel like the late model races [at Bristol] were OK. For us to put on a good event, to be the fastest cars to go around this track, to actually put on a show in the A Main, is huge.”

The 30-lap, $25,000-to-win Bristol Throwdown finale was postponed from Saturday to Sunday afternoon because of persistent precipitation. Hot laps are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, with opening ceremonies slated for 1:30.

Frustrated West Ham United manager David Moyes described defender Fabian Balbuena's red card as a "rank, rotten decision" after his side's 1-0 defeat by Chelsea on Saturday.

Timo Werner's first-half goal sealed victory to move fourth-placed Chelsea three points above West Ham in the battle to secure a top-four finish in the Premier League.

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While Moyes had no real complaints about the result, he could not hide his dismay at referee Chris Kavanagh's decision to send off Balbuena after a VAR check.

With around 10 minutes left, Balbuena caught Ben Chilwell with his follow-through after a clearance.

It looked to be a natural clash of legs but Kavanagh was instructed by the VAR to check a monitor and he returned to send off the Paraguayan, much to everyone's surprise.

"A rank, rotten decision," Moyes told reporters. "We lost to a team very much in form and maybe we could have got closer without the red card."

Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta escaped a possible handball in his area in the first half and Moyes felt Chelsea's Toni Rudiger could have been sent off for a foul on Vladimir Coufal shortly after Balbuena's dismissal.

"I just thought it was a really poor decision. I don't know who stopped the game. I thought it was supposed to be clear and obvious [error]," Moyes said. "But it shows me the person making the decision has never played the game.

"I don't see anywhere else he can put his foot. Five minutes later the same thing happened with Coufal and Rudiger and if the first was a red why did they not review that incident? The consistency is dire."

While West Ham had a genuine grievance, Chelsea nullified the hosts for most of the derby, again proving what a tough nut to crack they have become since Thomas Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard in January.

Werner's first goal since February always looked like being enough as Chelsea kept a 16th clean sheet in 21 games under the German who had a rather different opinion of the red card.

"The follow-through was a bit dangerous. On TV it looked a bit worse than it actually was. It was a harsh follow-through and they decided it was a reckless and dangerous foul," he said.

"The red card was not a must but it was a decision the referee could take. It was in between, a very hard decision, but maybe not a wrong decision."

English football, including clubs in the Premier League and Women's Super League, will undertake a three-day social media boycott next week in response to "the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many other connected to football."

High-profile players such as Manchester United's Marcus Rashford and Lauren James, Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling and Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold have reported that they have received racist abuse on social media platforms.

The growing volume of incidents prompted the governing bodies and leagues in English football to write to Twitter and Facebook in February, which also owns Instagram, demanding stricter enforcement of anti-discriminatory regulations.

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Leading figures in the English game remain unsatisfied by the action taken by social media companies, however, and it has been confirmed that a boycott of all platforms will now be imposed to cover the full programme of fixtures next weekend, including Manchester United taking on Liverpool in the Premier League.

"The [Football Association] FA, Premier League, [English Football League] EFL, FA Women's Super League, FA Women's Championship, [Professional Footballers Association] PFA, [League Managers Association] LMA, [Professional Game Match Officials Limited] PGMOL, Kick It Out and the [Football Supporters Association] FSA will unite for a social media boycott from 15.00 [GMT] on Friday April 30 to 23.59 [GMT] on Monday May 3, in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to football," a joint statement said.

"This has been scheduled to take place across a full fixture programme in the men's and women's professional game and will see clubs across the Premier League, EFL, WSL and Women's Championship switch off their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

"As a collective, the game recognises the considerable reach and value of social media to our sport. The connectivity and access to supporters who are at the heart of football remains vital.

"However, the boycott shows English football coming together to emphasise that social media companies must do more to eradicate online hate, while highlighting the importance of educating people in the ongoing fight against discrimination.

"In our letter of February 2021, English football outlined its requests of social media companies, urging filtering, blocking and swift takedowns of offensive posts, an improved verification process and re-registration prevention, plus active assistance for law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute originators of illegal content.

"While some progress has been made, we reiterate those requests today in an effort to stem the relentless flow of discriminatory messages and ensure that there are real-life consequences for purveyors of online abuse across all platforms.

"Boycott action from football in isolation will, of course, not eradicate the scourge of online discriminatory abuse, but it will demonstrate that the game is willing to take voluntary and proactive steps in this continued fight.

"Finally, while football takes a stand, we urge the UK Government to ensure its Online Safety Bill will bring in strong legislation to make social media companies more accountable for what happens on their platforms, as discussed at the DCMS [Digital, Culture, Media and Sport] Online Abuse roundtable earlier this week."

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters added that the league will continue to lobby the social media companies to do more to combat the scourge of online abuse.

"Racist behaviour of any form is unacceptable and the appalling abuse we are seeing players receive on social media platforms cannot be allowed to continue," Masters said.

"The Premier League and our clubs stand alongside football in staging this boycott to highlight the urgent need for social media companies to do more in eliminating racial hatred.

"We will not stop challenging social media companies and want to see significant improvements in their policies and processes to tackle online discriminatory abuse on their platforms.

"Football is a diverse sport, which brings together communities and cultures from all backgrounds and this diversity makes the competition stronger. No Room For Racism represents all the work we do to promote equality, diversity and inclusion and tackling discrimination."

Chief Executive of the Football Supporters' Association Kevin Miles said: "The Football Supporters' Association is fully behind the game's efforts to stamp out online hate and discrimination and will join next weekend's social media boycott. Much media attention has rightly focused on the vile abuse aimed at players, managers and journalists in the men's and women's game and we see that aimed at fans groups too. It has to stop.

"Many of our most active fan groups tell us that they have received disgusting abuse when they are doing nothing more than trying to represent their supporter base. It's a threat to the very existence of supporter organisations who are run by volunteers in their spare time. As fans we stand with players, managers, referees and all in the game in calling for the social media companies to step up."