Premier League club Burnley has condemned a plane towing a banner declaring "White Lives Matter Burnley" that flew over Manchester City's Etihad Stadium before Monday's match between the two clubs.

"Burnley Football Club strongly condemns the actions of those responsible for the aircraft and offensive banner that flew over The Etihad Stadium on Monday evening," a statement released on the club's website at half-time said.

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"We wish to make it clear that those responsible are not welcome at Turf Moor. This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and issue lifetime bans.

"The club has a proud record of working with all genders, religions and faiths through its award-winning Community scheme, and stands against racism of any kind.

"We are fully behind the Premier League's Black Lives Matter initiative and, in line with all other Premier League games undertaken since Project Restart, our players and football staff willingly took the knee at kick-off at Manchester City.

"We apologise unreservedly to the Premier League, to Manchester City and to all those helping to promote Black Lives Matter."

The plane appeared shortly after players from both teams took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

There was no indication of who organised the plane and banner.

After the match, Burnley defender Ben Mee told reporters that the players had heard rumblings that a display would be made minutes before kickoff.

"We literally heard as we were coming out. We heard some whispers it was going to happen. The club tried to stop it, but I've heard it's a small number of people who've arranged this. Hope it doesn't happen again," Mee said. "I'm ashamed and upset it's associated with the club, my club, and it's not something we want to see in this game."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche said that he knew nothing of the banner and that the club could only apologise for its appearance.

"I didn't realise what had gone on at the beginning. Heard noise. Unacceptable. We can only apologise," Dyche said after the match. "I don't know what the club can do to send a message out. The powers that be will look at the way we can play our part."

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who last week said that white people should apologise for the treatment of Black people, said the banner's message missed the point of the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Of course white lives matter, but black lives matter, too. Human beings matter. Everyone, we are the same. I travel a lot around the world and live in many countries, and every one of us, we are the same," he told reporters. "Every day we have to fight not just for the situation but for all the injustice around the world."

Former England and Manchester City defender Micah Richards says he was disheartened to see the plane carrying its banner.

"It's so disheartening. After how far we've come in the last couple of weeks, it really does hurt me," Richards told Sky Sports.

"I agree, everyone should have free speech, but just at a time when things are on the up, a small fraction just want to spoil things.

"Burnley have come out and condemned it, but it just shows you -- I speak to a lot of people who say, 'all that stuff happens in America, it doesn't happen in England.'

"... We can wear t-shirts, we can do 'Black Lives Matter' protests, and slowly we're getting better. But it just shows today, that although it's a small minority, it's still happening."

All players in the 12 Premier League games since the restart of the season after the coronavirus pandemic stoppage have worn "Black Lives Matter" on their shirts in place of their names in response to the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, who died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on his neck for nearly eight minutes in Minneapolis. Floyd's death has spurred demonstrations against racial injustice around the world as well as in sport.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

The Premier League return is in full swing, Italy's Serie A also resumed its 2019-20 season and Spain's title race is heating up. It's Monday, and Gab Marcotti reacts to the biggest moments in the sport of football from the past week.

Jump to: Don't cry conspiracy in La Liga | Liverpool show rust in derby | Three-team title race in Italy? | Arsenal's self-inflicted loss | Dortmund face difficult summer | Chelsea superb vs. Villa | Bayern chase more records | Atalanta look great

Don't cry conspiracy in Real Madrid, Barcelona title race

Here we go. A title race this tight in La Liga, with the eternal rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona level on points with eight games remaining, can only mean one thing: controversy, conspiracy and bile.

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Gerard Pique hinted at it even before Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw at Sevilla on Friday, saying how hard it was going to be for his club since they no longer controlled their own destiny ("It's going to be difficult for Real Madrid to lose points"). And Barca manager Quique Setien, speaking on Monday after Real Madrid's controversial 2-1 win over Real Sociedad, had his own loaded comment: "Everybody saw what happened, everybody can draw his own conclusions. In my opinion, Pique is a very intelligent person."

There's not much to read between the lines because it's all out in plain view. Madrid's victory at Anoeta featured three big calls -- arguably four, if you count Casemiro's elbow, which was somewhere between a yellow- and red-card offense -- and they all went against Real Sociedad.

Yet you can justify each one. There's no smoking gun proof that there was a miscarriage of justice.

Casemiro might have seen red, but equally, many referees won't send a guy off 22 minutes into a match. Vinicius' penalty was "soft," and while there may or may not have been contact, Diego Llorente's lunge doesn't get the ball and puts Vinicius off his shot. Mikel Merino is in an offside position and in the way of Adnan Januzaj's shot: it's a judgment call as to whether he's interfering with Thibaut Courtois and whether his little hop puts him off. As for Karim Benzema's goal that wasn't disallowed, IFAB rules for 2020-21 define the arm as beginning "at the bottom of the armpit." Leagues are free to adopt this interpretation for the remainder of the 2019-20 season, but it must be remembered that even under the old guidance, referees have plenty of discretion.

What it boils down to is that these are four close decisions that went Real Madrid's way, but not one of them, to me, is scandalous enough to scream of conspiracy. Equally evident is the fact that you'd feel somewhat more reassured -- precisely because there was so much interpretation in some of them -- if the referee had conducted an on-field review, rather than simply listening to VAR.

Complaining about referees has been around for as long as there have been journalists around to listen and fans around to get angry. It's a classic, and it works because it plants a seed of doubt in an official's mind, particularly when it comes to pre-emptive warnings. If you say "Gee, I hope Referee X isn't biased against us" before kickoff, it adds a layer of pressure to his job, making him aware that if he makes a mistake, folks will think he's biased.

Equally (and plenty of referees have spoken about this) there is such a thing as "psychological subjection," the idea that if you make a mistake that harms a bigger club that gets more coverage, it will get more attention and hurt your reputation more than if your mistake harms a smaller club. It's not that referees are prejudiced; if they're sure of themselves, they'll call it the way they see it. It's when they're not sure -- and in some cases, you can't be sure -- that they have to fight the urge to factor in the consequences of a wrong decision. That's why decisiveness is a key characteristic for match officials, just as much as getting things right. These are the sort of people that if you take them out to lunch, they'll glance at the menu and order straight away.

Real Madrid have won one league title in the past seven years, while also being crowned champions of Europe four times. I know a knockout competition is different from a league, but somehow if there is some big pro-Real Madrid conspiracy afoot, it's curious how it affects UEFA referees more than it does their Spanish colleagues.

I don't think this issue -- if the sniping and screw-turning on referees continues -- will ruin the run-in, at least not for me. The rivalry and regionalism and venom is part of the equation here. That said, I do think it's unnecessary. You have two clubs who have had up-and-down seasons, are not as good as they were a few years ago and who still have a Liga title to play for. That's more than enough to keep us watching.

Liverpool show some rust in Merseyside derby

Logic tells you to suspend judgement on any team in their first game back, and that applies to Liverpool's 0-0 draw against Everton as well. It's only the third time in 30 league games that they've dropped points, and they didn't play particularly well, showing plenty of rust. Roberto Firmino's sharpness is down, and perhaps it has to do with the fact that Mohamed Salah was on the bench and Takumi Minamino on the pitch: different runs, different movement, different quality.

Equally for a team where the fullbacks are so important in possession, having your first-choice left-back out and your second-choice left-back going off before halftime doesn't help and has a major knock-on throughout the side. Credit Everton, too: They created density in their defensive third, were unafraid to try to play through the press and could have snatched a win at the end.

We're only delaying the inevitable here: the title will come to Anfield after a 30-year absence. But seeing Liverpool play like this in a derby is a reminder of just how high the standards set before the shutdown really were.

Are Inter still in Serie A title race? Maybe ...

So Antonio Conte reckons we have a three-horse race in Serie A. Mathematically, he's correct. After beating Sampdoria 2-1, Inter are six points behind Juventus and five behind Lazio. There are still 12 games to go, which is an eternity.

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I wouldn't have agreed with him, but having seen Juve's struggles in the Coppa Italia and having no idea what Lazio will be like when they resume their season, he might be correct. Certainly the Inter side that dominated Samp for long stretches and could easily have been up by four or five goals look like they can make up six points (or more) on this star-crossed version of Juve. Equally though, the Inter side that suddenly found themselves hanging on at the end, after not converting their chances and conceding a goal, look like the Jekyll-and-Hyde Inter of old.

That said, the current conditions -- football back after a long layoff, no fans, a hugely congested fixture list -- likely mean we'll see plenty of twists and turns as teams struggle to find rhythm and consistency. Perhaps Conte is right after all...

Arsenal have themselves to blame for defeat

Bernd Leno's nasty injury and Matteo Guendouzi's tussle with Neal Maupay will dominate headlines for Arsenal, but their 2-1 defeat at Brighton was self-inflicted. Don't take my word for it -- ask their manager, Mikel Arteta, who said "the accident was provoked by us."

When you defend horrendously on a set piece and concede a last-minute goal in those circumstances, you only have yourself to blame. Arteta made six changes from the team that started against Manchester City while also putting Bukayo Saka in a different position.

You assume it has to do with rotation and wanting to get a look at everybody before the inevitable summer rebuild. At some point, though, he has to start thinking of building some kind of chemistry and identity, and that's hard to do when guys are coming in and out and you're shuffling formations.

I know that if Manchester City are banned from Europe, then the Europa League is just four points away. But at some point, you have to start thinking about the future and playing for next season. Arteta evidently isn't quite there yet, not because he doesn't want to be, but because he genuinely doesn't feel he has enough guys he trusts to be part of the long-term project.

Crucial summer for Dortmund's planning

In a parallel, non-Bayern universe, RB Leipzig hosting Borussia Dortmund could have been a title-decider. Instead, it confirmed what we already knew. Leipzig have largely checked out until the Champions League returns, turning on their style intermittently. And Dortmund remain an ode to inconsistency: dominating the first half, wilting in the second and then grabbing a 2-1 victory with a late, late winner.

Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc needs to think long and hard about the next steps for this squad, starting with Erling Haaland. He grabbed both goals in the win, taking his total to 13 in 14 league appearances and, overall, 16 in 17. That works out to an incredible goal every 75 minutes, all of them from open play. Just a reminder that the kid is still 19 and that not even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were putting up numbers like that before their 20th birthday.

The club have a lot of attacking talent around him, but he has to be the focal point going forward even if means making some painful decisions as a result.

Chelsea look superb vs. Villa

Despite going a goal down, Chelsea hit the ground running away to Aston Villa with a well-earned 2-1 win.

Don't let the narrow scoreline fool you: it was pretty much one-way traffic throughout. Frank Lampard mixed things up, perhaps with an eye towards the clash with Manchester City on Thursday -- Tammy Abraham and Reece James were on the bench, while Callum Hudson-Odoi wasn't quite match-fit and Jorginho was suspended -- but Mason Mount was in fine form and Chelsea were in solid control. The win extends their lead over fifth-place (Manchester United and Sheffield United) to five points, which is pretty critical regardless of Manchester City's CAS appeal.

One interesting wrinkle was the return of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who made his first start in more than a year. Lampard used him on the left side of a front three, though he often came inside. It says a lot about the injuries that have slowed him that at 24, there still is no consensus on how to get the best out of his talents. Putting him in a wide area where he can use his one-on-one ability, especially against teams who defend deep, is an intriguing option. Watch this space.

Bayern chasing records after clinching title

Last week I wrote about Bayern's eighth straight Bundesliga title and how it was at once remarkable -- given the hurdles, some of them self-inflicted, some of them less so, that they overcame -- and problematic (for the rest of the league). They're obviously still hungry, this time for records.

The 3-1 win over Freiburg means they're up to 96 goals scored in a single campaign, with one match to go. That's more than they accomplished in the Pep Guardiola era, and more than all but two teams in history: Jupp Heynckes' Treble winners got 98 in 2012-13, and the 1971-72 side managed 101. They'll have a chance to break those marks against Wolfsburg on the final day of the season.

Atalanta superb in first Serie A game back

Atalanta picked up where they left off, walloping Sassuolo 4-1. So much for the notion that the layoff was going to throw off their high-paced style. They're averaging nearly three goals a game, more than any other club in Europe's big five leagues.

How will they cope with the heat and games in quick succession? That's the question hanging over them. But given the way Gian Gasperini has been able to dole out playing time without losing intensity, you suspect their bench is deeper than it first appears. The gap they hold over Roma, who are fifth, is a healthy six points. Don't be surprised if they're still ahead at the end of the campaign.

Landon Donovan, USMNT midfielder 2000-2014: I'm thinking in my head like, "I just gotta cheat up the field as much as I can."

It's almost like [Tim Howard] had been surveying the field before he got the ball. In case he did get the ball, get his hands on the ball, he was ready. And so when he grabbed it, I knew there was a lot of space in front of me. So I took off in that moment, and he threw it perfectly.

At that moment, my thought was just make the right decision, because I've been in situations like that thousands of times in practice or in games. So I wanted to get the ball out in front of me, so we're putting pressure on them quickly. And then when Jozy [Altidore] peeled out to the right, Edson [Buddle] peeled out to the left and Clint [Dempsey] was running centrally, and instinct kind of takes over at that point. Get it out to Jozy and I knew he was gonna put it in a good spot from there, and then it was crash the goal and put them under pressure.

There are not many forwards in the history of our country who would have run that hard to get across the goalie and put himself in position like Clint did. In the moment, I don't think there's any chance that the ball is going to end up anywhere other than in the back of the net, because once [Altidore] rolls it in front, I'm thinking through Clint or Edson or an own goal, somehow that ball's gonna end up in the goal or at least close to the goal.

I was directly behind Clint, but I actually can't even see the ball. And so their interaction happened and then [the ball] rolled out. I didn't even know. I wasn't thinking about timing my run, my momentum was carrying me into the box and then that's where the ball ended up.

In the 91st minute of the United States' World Cup group-stage finale against Algeria on June 23, 2010, in Pretoria, South Africa, Donovan pounced on that ball, scoring the goal that would send the Americans into the round of 16 after their 1-0 win and set off a cultural phenomenon, putting the U.S. men's national team into the collective consciousness of the country like never before.

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Ten years later, ESPN spoke to Donovan, his teammates, members of the media, fans, and those whose soccer careers were in part shaped by that moment. This is the story of that night in Pretoria, South Africa, the most historic moment in USMNT history.

Editor's note: The text has been edited for length and clarity. ESPN's Jeff Carlisle, Noah Davis, Jason Davis, Arch Bell and Austin Lindberg contributed to this report.

Jump to: The ghost foul | The buildup | The game | The worry | The goal | The reaction | The celebration | The aftermath

The ghost foul

The U.S., arguably, should not have been in the position it found itself in against Algeria.

A welcome 1-1 draw against England in its opener positioned the Americans well to advance from the group. The Three Lions were widely expected to top Group C, and a point on the board, with encounters against Slovenia and Algeria to come, put Bob Bradley & Co. on course to reach the knockout rounds.

But a controversial 2-2 draw against Slovenia dampened that enthusiasm. A phantom foul called on Maurice Edu while he volleyed home a Donovan free kick cost the U.S. two points, and instead of heading into the group finale on top of the table and needing only a draw vs. Algeria to reach the round of 16, it now had to win.

Maurice Edu, USMNT midfielder 2007-2014: I'm still at a loss of words about how to describe what the hell went wrong during that play. I know I'm not fouling him because I'm ahead of him and now he's trying to catch me. So I literally go through the box uncontested and Landon couldn't have played a better ball, it hits me in stride, left foot, boom, goal. I'm not top 10 on SportsCenter, I'm No. 1! In the moment, I went back to being a kid, kicking a ball around the house, the commentary, "Mo gets the ball, it's the last minute of the World Cup, he shoots, he scores!" So this was my moment, this was that moment.

I hear the whistle blow and I'm like, "What the hell?" Everyone is up in arms, protesting, going crazy, Clint, Landon. They were arguing with the referee, who had no answer for us then, had no answer for us after the game and to this day he probably has no answer. If that goal counts, that's probably the greatest comeback in U.S. soccer history.

I look at it and think, "F---, that sucked, that was my moment, that was my goal, that was my place in history." But you know what, it led to an incredible moment in the Algeria game and now you've seen what it's made for.

Donovan: I saw it go in, but I didn't know what happened. So at that moment, you just have to assume that something happened because I didn't know any different. The only thing is the reaction of our players, looking around like, "Who are you calling that on?" Nobody can figure out who they are calling. And so I think it's myself and Michael [Bradley], we go to the ref and I don't think he only spoke French, but we were just trying to figure out like, "Can you just tell us what the call was and who you're calling it on?" and he didn't want anything to do with it. Maybe it was a language thing. It seemed like he made up his mind before the play that he was going to call a foul. I have known referees to do that if they feel that they got a previous call wrong. It just seemed like he had made up his mind. And you know, it wasn't until later watching the replay that I realized that there was no foul, and actually if you're going to call a foul, it should have been against a Slovenian player on a few of our guys.

Tim Howard, USMNT goalkeeper 2002-2017: The infamous shirt tug where everyone is like they're in a WWE wrestling match. I don't know what the referee saw. To be in with a shout of winning that game, and to show the perseverance and battle back said a lot about our team.

Bob Ley, ESPN 1979-2019: I was at that match, and I go back and I still look for that foul that took away [Edu's] goal in much the same way that I look for how much Michael Ballack was offside in 2002. I still give him s---. "Ah Bob, you're such an a--hole."

Jonathan Bornstein, USMNT defender 2007-2011: We thought we got robbed. But, you know, very quickly, you've got to move on. It's out of our hands now. Let's focus on what we can control, and that was the next game. And so I think that's kind of something Bob always instilled in us, that kind of, control what you can control and let go and don't ponder on what happened in the past.

Alexi Lalas, ESPN 2009-2014: What people sometimes fail to realize is, we only had two points going into that third game. There was a real good chance we could have lost that game to Slovenia. But obviously, Michael scored, and we actually could have won it. But you had already seen a comeback-kid type of mentality that they had. But now you're right back where we started in that you lose the game and we bomb out in the group stage. So from a drama and entertainment perspective, we were psyched to get this type of game and now we just needed them to perform.

Julie Foudy, ESPN 2006-present: I was at our ESPN studios in Johannesburg. You have hundreds of people in this room thinking, "Geez, we could be going home here." And you obviously want the team to be successful, but you're also thinking how much work has gone into a production like this and all the people that are over there, and you definitely want Team USA still in it, right? So, I think that's always the interesting juxtaposition of, you are clearly so invested because it's Team USA, but you're also invested because you want the sport to grow and you realize, without USA in it, it's a much different sell.

The buildup

So the U.S. headed to Pretoria for its game against Algeria, needing a win to ensure its progression to the knockout rounds. The result of Slovenia vs. England, kicking off simultaneously in Port Elizabeth, would have a huge bearing on how the group would shake out, but the Americans controlled their destiny: win and they're in.

Donovan: All you can ask for, for a team like ours, is going into the third game with a chance to advance, right? Like, when you go into the tournament, that's your thought process. If you're one of the top five or six teams in the world, you want to be qualified by the third game. But for us, we wanted to go into the third game with a chance to get through and we felt like we were playing the weakest opponent in our group, and they needed like some crazy results to happen. I think they didn't really have a chance to advance so there was excitement, optimism, but we knew it wasn't going to be easy. So I think we felt good heading into that game.

Howard: We had played in big games. We beat Spain at the Confederations Cup, best team in the world. We were up on Brazil in the final 2-0. OK, it didn't go our way, but we had played in big games as a team. And so I think when it comes to World Cup, particularly if you're with a U.S. team, all bets are off. So if you can put yourself in a position to go into that third game where your destiny is in your hands, that's all the U.S. team could have asked for. Even if we had gotten a better result in the Slovenia game, we couldn't just lose. It was all to play for and we felt confident we could do it.

Steve Cherundolo, USMNT defender 1999-2012: We still felt confident that we could make it out of the group, but I think we also felt the pressure was added on because people were expecting us to make it out of the group, and we felt the same. So we felt good, we felt confident, but we also knew that Algeria had some weapons as well and they were a good team. All the pressure was on us. We were no longer the underdogs, which is what normally we were.

DaMarcus Beasley, USMNT midfielder/defender 2001-2017: I know that everyone was more relaxed than what I thought the team would be. I wasn't starting, so you kind of look around the locker room, see people's mannerisms and their faces, and that's one thing I do remember, is that the team didn't seem rattled. Knowing that we needed to win, I think the team was confident in how we were playing throughout the tournament.

Bornstein: I remember the overall attitude of the team being very positive. We had previously played against teams like England, who we took a point from, we thought going into the Algeria game was a definite opportunity for us to prove something to the world.

The game

The game began with Algeria coming out motivated, striking the crossbar in the early exchanges. But the U.S. recovered.

Dempsey had a goal controversially ruled out for offside, then hit the woodwork. Altidore missed a chance with the net gaping.

Herculez Gomez, USMNT forward 2007-2013: It was crazy because at first it was Algeria. One in hits the crossbar, we get saved. But then I was out supplying a lot of pressure. I had a shot at like 30 yards out that caught the keeper by surprise. I had another shot that I hit straight into the keeper that I should have done way better with. I had a cross shot that ended up on Clint's foot that he scores and it's a legitimate goal, that's called offside. So I thought we were knocking.

Lalas: I was more impressed with Algeria than I was the other two teams in the group, to be quite honest with you. They were sons of b----es. And I say that in a good way, they were badasses. I wasn't prepared for how badass they were.

The worry

The missed chances begin to add up. As the count of wasted opportunities rises, the clock continues ticking away. Time is running out to get three points from the game, and with it, a place in the round of 16.

Jozy Altidore, USMNT forward 2007-present: I'll never forget, there was a play where I think I'm in, and I go down the side and I cross the ball, and they sail it clear. Clint comes and opens his hips up to go far post, rings the post and it comes back, and I thought for sure he scores the rebound, and he put it over. It was a tough bounce, to be fair. It's not an easy finish. At that point, I was thinking to myself, "Wow, is it going to happen? We may not get through."

Beasley: It was, "Are we going to sneak one in like we usually do? Are we not? Is this going to be a game where we almost had it and we didn't? And we lost it?" And we started thinking about, "Oh man, the game before, we should've won that game." So you start thinking about what could've happened to not be in the situation that you're in. If we would've scored that one goal [vs. Slovenia], we wouldn't even be in this situation right now.

Gomez: I thought it was there for the taking. But as the game progressed, then this feeling of, "Oh man, this could be our last game" started settling in. And it's a World Cup game, so everything's magnified. Everybody's on edge. It almost feels like these moments are bigger than they really are, because at the end, it's just a game, right? Maybe nine out of 10 times you play that at a neutral site and we blow Algeria out, maybe. But in this game, it was close. They were in it. It could have been anybody's game, any moment could've changed it. And it came down to the very end of the show.

Ian Darke, ESPN 2010-present: Did you honestly have a feeling that [the U.S.] were going to get that goal? Not really, not deep in your heart. And you're thinking, "Well, this is quite a damp ending for the World Cup campaign," because as the group stood going into the 91st minute, they were going out of the World Cup having played reasonably well and they could have gone out without losing a match.

Ley: [ESPN analyst Steve McManaman] and I were both mesmerized, and so I got up from behind the desk, and I am just walking around like my wife is in labor -- in the old days, you're not in the birthing room. I have never been so nervous in my life.

Donovan: There was this real professional understanding that in the last 10 or 15 minutes, the attacking players had to cheat and we had to roll the dice. Like, if we gave up a goal and lost 1-0 vs. tying 0-0, it didn't matter, we're out either way. So we had to take chances. And I think people don't realize how stressful that is for a backline and Michael and Tim to deal with basically 5-on-5 at the back and 5-on-5 at the other end for 10 minutes or so. And they just held down the fort and allowed us to kind of get wave after wave and keep trying to break them down and find the goal to win it.

Altidore: When you're down, you just have this sense of going until you reach the goal. Especially when you need a goal. That's kind of where we were at. We were still just trying to get after it. We wouldn't stop. We had time. We just kept going, we just tried to be relentless in our approach of trying to create that one more chance to win the game. Because I think up until that last seize of the ball, we believed. And I think that played a huge part.

The goal

And then it happened.

In the first minute of stoppage time, the U.S. conceded a golden opportunity, as Adlene Guedioura delivered a cross to the back post where two Algerian attackers were unmarked. Rafik Saifi got his head on the ball, but he could only direct it straight into Tim Howard's hands.

The goalkeeper immediately pushed forward and threw the ball into the path of a sprinting Donovan, who was already at midfield. Donovan continued his run, playing the ball to Altidore wide right, who squared a cross for Dempsey, whose shot was courageously saved by Rais M'Bolhi. But, thankfully for the U.S., Donovan followed the play and buried the rebound.

Bornstein: I think you can take it back to their chance right before Tim catches the ball. It could have been a very dangerous opportunity. I mean, they get a cross in and the guy's alone in the box and he gets a free header off. Luckily, it goes straight to Tim's hands. I think all of us on the bench, you know, when you're looking at them inside of our box and you're thinking "No, no, no, just get it out, get it out." Tim catches it and everyone kind of stands up because he immediately throws it just like a bomb, like a quarterback to a wide receiver. And leads him perfectly running full speed, [Donovan] takes a great touch forward. And we're already inside their half within 30 milliseconds. I think everyone at that point, at least for me, we're all like, "This is it."

Howard: There had been a series of getting the ball, rolling it out, throw it out, getting us on the front foot and attacking. So that was kind of the mode I was in for much of that second half. And then Landon, as he does, it just seemed like that was a connection that I made 1,000 times. He opens up wide, he wants the ball, he gets on his horse and then me being able to find him in an open lane, it just kind of seemed second nature. So he was just flying and I felt in that perpetual motion stage. [Dempsey] was getting ready to get moving, everybody seemed to be flowing toward the goal.

Darke: I remember, and I've obviously seen it a few times since then, Howard having the ball and I remember I sort of injected an extra urgency into my voice at that point, thinking, "This is now or never, it's got to all come from this." And I remember Howard throwing a great throw almost at the halfway mark on the right to Donovan and suddenly the move was on. Suddenly that Algeria defense seemed to just maybe look a little bit disheveled and disorganized, maybe for the first time. And you just have a feeling something could happen here. And then it looked like the frustration was going to continue because Dempsey's shot got blocked, and you thought, "Ah, that's it." But there was that moment, you saw it was dropping to Landon Donovan, and that he had a magnificent chance. The rest is history, as they say. Banged it in the net, and then the mass celebration by the corner flag and my somewhat hysterical commentary. I had no idea what I'd said at the time, but eventually I did get the impression that people quite liked it, which is always good for a commentator.

Altidore: Landon would always tell me, "When I get it, just take off running." So I just took off when I saw him taking off, we all took off when we saw the opportunity. It was a good throw by Timmy. They caught us. We're cheating a little bit to try to stay in a good spot, to stay forward, you don't want to break down. And it just worked out to be the perfect counter, the perfect play where we caught them. And then, actually, when I look back at it, Landon's on for me to give it back to him. If I disguise it well enough, I can cross it back to him and he can also tap it in. And it's crazy, but I was not paying attention to that. I just saw Clint arriving, and I saw he was open, and there was a window. And when Clint missed that, I was thinking, "No, another big chance!" And then Landon was there at the doorstep, following the play, staying with it, and then the rest is history, as they say.

Foudy: And the thing about Landon's goal too, which is so iconic to Landon, is one, he starts it with that counter. And then you see he shows himself to Jozy, so he kind of holds, but he doesn't stay there. A player without that ability to see what's being done, I'd have been like, "OK, he didn't use me, I'm good." He gets in a position where he knows he's going to get some type of deflection. And, in the 91st minute, to sprint -- which he did, pretty much three quarters of the length of that field -- and then to carry that run through so he's in a position to make it look easy, that was everything of what Landon was about. And people miss that, they just see him at that end position. There's so many people who wouldn't have gotten to that position. I'd have still been at the mid-strut, "Yeah, I'm good."

Howard: Credit to both Landon and Clint. They're always smelling it, they're always on the front foot. Landon doesn't just play the ball and stop, and think, "This is going to be in the back of the net." He continues his run.

Altidore: Landon was doing his Landon thing, man. Popping up in the right place at the right time.

Edu: When I look back at that play, it's commitment from a group of players who said, "This isn't it for us." When it happens, it's like, "Cool, last-minute goal," but when you watch it back, there were so many plays along the way, so many steps on the way when it could have gone wrong. Maybe Landon takes the play off, maybe Tim doesn't see Landon, maybe Clint doesn't make the run in the box, maybe Jozy doesn't go wide to get the cross. There are so many steps along the way when it could have gone wrong, but it didn't because it was a group of committed players.

The reaction

After 91 minutes of nerves, of pressure building with each passing moment, Donovan's goal triggered a release of emotion throughout the team. He found himself at the bottom of a dog pile in the corner flag consisting of most every player on the field and a good number of substitutes as well.

A handful of the team were so exhausted from the match that they couldn't muster the energy to sprint to the attacking third and join in on celebrations, instead embracing one another at the center of midfield.

Donovan: I've been under a dog pile and it gives me serious anxiety, like real anxiety. I went to the corner, I saw Stu running down to meet me from the bench, and I'm like, with my momentum, there's no way I wasn't gonna slide because I was running so fast. But if you watch closely, right at the end, there is a minute where I'm like, "Oh f---," because I realize what's coming. I get like serious anxiety being there. Within about three seconds, and I don't know if anyone heard it because everyone was yelling, I'm like, "Guys, get up! Get up! Get up! Please get up!" I'm just trying to get them off me because I didn't want to hyperventilate.

Cherundolo: As soon as I saw the back of the net move, I looked over to the assistant referee. The flags did not go up, the goal is definitely counted. I looked for Tim and Jay and [Carlos Bocanegra] because it was too far to get up to Landon and at that point we were dead tired. I looked to anybody close to me who I could grab and hug. Because then we knew, "All right, this is it. This is our day. We did it."

Darke: I don't think that you can plan for that, and maybe you shouldn't, either. Maybe I had a few words that I was going to say if the USA had gone out, you might prep that. But really something as dramatic, like a 10 on the Richter scale, an explosive moment like that, where one minute you're out of the World Cup and the next millisecond, you're top of the group, nobody can plan for that. So whatever came out, came out. It was instinctive and I'm a great believer that the best lines of commentary are exactly like that and happened in that way. I don't know what made me say, "Go, go, USA!" I'm not American, as you well know. It's just something that came out I thought that captured the mood.

Ley: I vividly remember it was like an out-of-body experience, like almost vibrating with excitement when the goal went in. It was like, "Oh, my God." It's like, "This is big. Don't overstate it, don't step on it." I guess we didn't screw it up. It was well received. As Ian has said so many times, he didn't know where the "Go, go, USA!" came from. That's a ringtone for some people still 10 years later. Ian doesn't quite beat out my favorite John Lennon guitar licks.

John Harkes, ESPN 2006-2011: When it went in, I think I lost my headset and I couldn't even communicate, so I couldn't call anything. When I put it back on to speak, I just remember it cutting it out again so people couldn't hear me making the commentary, and Ian had to speak again because my thing had gone out. We jumped on each other and it was all the camera guys around us. It was an amazing moment.

Andres Cantor, Futbol De Primera Radio: When I do the goal call before Bora [Milutinovic] and Marcelo [Balboa] speak, I was losing air. I never felt like I was going to faint, but I felt lightheaded because of all the euphoria and yelling and energy. And when I say, "Donovan the best player in U.S. history," it doesn't come off clean, it's not what I wanted to say and I couldn't find the words. At that moment I was on the verge of being breathless so I had to be quiet and recover.

Chris Kyak, fan at a watch party: At least half of us in there in that bar that day dropped to our knees [after Dempsey's shot was saved] and weren't even looking at the TV -- I don't even think I remember seeing the goal live. I remember seeing it in replay nonstop, minutes later. The people in [the bar] were probably on a pile-on. Beers were flying everywhere. I believe that was one of the first times the bar utilized plastic cups, knowing that something may have happened that day, whether it was good or bad.

Benny Feilhaber, USMNT 2007-2017: I think my favorite thing about that is how I had zero involvement in the entire build-up of that play and how much it meant to me. I think that's a great representation of our team because there was no selfishness with that team, we wanted one thing and everyone wanted the same thing and it didn't matter who was able to get the glory and you saw it in that moment.

Altidore: It's like the things you say in your backyard when you're playing around. Last minute of the game, for all the marbles! And to have that play come off and be able to have it and look back on it for the rest of our lives, it's amazing. It's a beautiful moment.

The celebration

The celebrations following that game became legend unto their own. Former President Bill Clinton was at the match, making his way to the dressing room to join in the festivities. Former NFL star Reggie Bush was there, too.

Upon their return to the hotel, U.S. Soccer had arranged for players' families to be there waiting, and organized a reception complete with singing and dancing, including the hotel staff.

Howard: President Clinton was in there with the Secret Service and at one point we were drinking beers and everybody's excited and guys are taking their boots off. Carlos [Bocanegra] asked for everyone's attention and asked President Clinton to come to the center, and he waxed poetically about what Bill Clinton meant to us and to be a part of our group and to Carlos personally, and he asked him if he'd have a beer with us. And [Clinton] looked over his shoulder, took off his jacket, rolled his sleeves up, popped open a beer. It was a pretty cool moment because not many people can say that they have that opportunity.

Beasley: It was chaos as soon as we got in [the dressing room]. We were jumping and yelling and cheering. Everybody was happy. We celebrated. And, obviously, when Clinton came in the locker room, it was great for him to meet everybody and congratulate everybody, so that was really cool. But yeah, we celebrated a little bit, because it wasn't so much us celebrating because we went through, it was how we did it. The 90th minute, basically the last play of the game, we had a do-or-die situation for us to go through to the next round, and we did that. So, I'm sure if we would've won the game say 4-0, it would've been different.

Gomez: I know that we're a very patriotic country any time it's the U.S. vs. the rest of the world. The country gets behind it. But it's one thing to be there, it's another thing to get together at a conference room in a hotel and have the president of the United States call you on speaker phone. He's talking to you, he's naming Timmy by name, he's naming Landon, he's congratulating us. That's a surreal thing. It's surreal when Bill Clinton, an ex-president of the United States, comes into the locker room and he's sharing a Budweiser with you. When Reggie Bush, probably at one of the heights of his career, is in the locker room and he shakes your hand and he tells you how much a fan he is, it's just surreal moments.

David Ridenhour, fan at the game: It was just minutes of pandemonium after [the goal], and then as soon as they blew the final whistle, we stayed in the stadium for probably 20 or 25 minutes and watched the players go around the field. As we were leaving, there was a group of probably 1,000 U.S. fans that were still inside the stadium gates, and for 15 or 20 minutes we just sang and danced and partied.

Donovan: Maybe we did [overcelebrate] a little bit. It's not like we were getting hammered that night. But it's so difficult to advance out of your group at a World Cup, and when you put in so much time and effort, it's hard not to celebrate. It really is. Life is short. You can't blame people for wanting to celebrate in that moment and appreciate it because once that moment is over, it's gone forever. I don't blame guys, especially you've got people like the former president in there, you have to appreciate and enjoy the moment.

The aftermath

The celebrations crossed the Atlantic at a rapid pace. The stoppage-time win over Algeria became a "Where were you when ..." moment in this country's sporting history.

That was compounded by the rise of social media, and the emergence of videos from watch parties across the U.S. They were featured in ad campaigns, they were picked up by morning shows and on the tongues of late-night hosts.

Walker Zimmerman, USMNT defender 2017-present: I think I was at a soccer tournament and at a restaurant or bar in between games with my mom just watching the game. It was an out-of-body experience while watching that final sequence go down. Everyone is holding their breath, ball goes in and you erupt and you say, "I don't know any of these people around me, but I'm enjoying it."

Donovan: We went back to the hotel, we went to bed. In the morning when I went to breakfast, [press officer Michael] Kammarman actually said, "Hey, dude, you got to see this" and he showed me that same video, and it was like, "Holy s---." It was really powerful for those of us who have been in this game for a long time and never seen people care about soccer like that. And I think quickly after that, it started to sink in because it was like interview here, interview there, this person's calling me, that person's calling me. People had jumped on the bandwagon really fast.

Michael Kammarman, USMNT press officer 2001-present: At a World Cup, it's always hard when you're inside the team bubble to have a real sense of what the response is like back in the United States. We already had a large contingent of U.S. media in South Africa, and certainly there were a ton of media requests for Landon after the game, but what really hit home were the videos showing the reactions of fans around the country. Those took on a life of their own, and it was one of the first times that had really happened in sports. Landon came into the Studio 90 office and watched that awesome compilation video, and that was a real eye-opener for us on how big this was back home; you could see in that game and the week that followed that the focus of people in the United States was on the U.S. men's national team in a way it probably had never been before.

Bornstein: I was roommates with Benny Feilhaber and we had learned about [the videos] just because people were telling us, "Oh my God, did you guys see the reaction?" So we watched them, like, immediately afterward. I remember watching them almost right after, then again and again and again. It was so motivating, to be honest, to see how the American people, all the fans reacted inside bars, inside homes, wherever they were. It was like everyone was in the same moment at the same time. It's something that I'll be able to share with my kids and hopefully grandkids for years to come.

Foudy: We're in Johannesburg, so we have no idea what's happening back in America, but it gave you a sense of the magnitude of that moment, and what it meant to soccer in our culture, which is something we've always had to convince people is a part of our culture. As a soccer player, they always say, "No, it's not us. People aren't passionate about it, it's not in our blood like it is in other countries." And that moment, I was like maybe it is! Look at us!

Lalas: It's a wonderful piece of Americana and a piece of our soccer history.

Zimmerman: Gregg [Berhalter]'s first camp in January two years ago, we were doing a roommate questionnaire where at the end of a meal you had to stand up and share the answers to questions about your roommate, and one of the questions was, "What was your most memorable U.S. soccer moment?" It seemed like half of the team alluded to this goal as the most exciting and pivotal moment that they had witnessed in U.S. soccer history.

Lalas: That's the defining moment for a player who's had plenty of them. That's the one that people will remember. And when I say people, I mean people that aren't even involved in soccer.

Shannon Gabriel looks set to be added to West Indies' Test squad for the series against England.

Gabriel, who was a key player in West Indies' victory over England in the Caribbean, was only named as part of the reserve squad for the tour as he was seeking to prove his fitness following an ankle injury.

But Phil Simmons, West Indies' head coach, suggested Gabriel was now "bowling as fast as I've seen him for while" and hinted that, if he came through the warm-up games, he was highly likely to be added to the 14-man Test squad.

ALSO READ: Phil Simmons recalls racist abuse in English league cricket

"Yes, there is a possibility of Shannon Gabriel joining the touring party," Simmons said. "He's one of West Indies' prominent fast bowlers coming back from injury and we just had to make sure that he was fit enough to work through the tour.

"The last week he's been at full tilt and he looks fit. He looks good. He's bowling as fast as I've seen him for a while so he's ready and close enough to the Test match.

"When leaving home 14 were named in the squad. Because of Shannon coming back from his injury, we had to let him get a little bit further and see how he is and then we'll decide whether to make it a 15-member squad. After that, injuries might be the cause for changes.

"The top three bowlers speak for themselves. Jason Holder is the number one ranked all-rounder in the world in Test cricket, Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel are high up on that fast bowling list in the ICC rankings. That shows you there's quality there."

West Indies start their first warm-up game - a three-day affair - on Tuesday. While that inter-squad match may feature teams of more than 11 players and could see some flexibility around conventional playing arrangements, their next game will be a four-day, first-class match which looks set to pit the first choice Test team against the reserves.

While Simmons was understandably cautious about committing to a team at this stage, he did hint that fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and spin-bowling all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall could also feature. Both venues for the series - the Ageas Bowl in Southampton and Emirates Old Trafford - usually provide some assistance for spinners in Test cricket and, in the likes of Jason Holder, Shane Dowrich and Roston Chase, West Indies have the all-round options which may allow them to squeeze an extra bowler in if required.

"We haven't seen what the Ageas Bowl is like," Simmons said. "When we see that, we will know what our combination will be like.

"But at this stage, you can say that Rakheem will be a part. He got 10 wickets against Afghanistan in our last Test. So you can say he'll be a part if we go in with two spinners and three fast bowlers or four and one.

"Alzarri Joseph is going to be a big hit on this tour."

Simmons confirmed the entire squad, including the reserves, were currently considered fit with Jason Holder having recovered from "a little thing with his ankle".

"He seems to be all right," Simmons said. "He batted and bowled today. He could bat No. 6; Shane Dowrich could bat No. 6. The warm-up games will help us decide how we structure the batting. There are possibilities in different directions."

Haider Ali, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf have tested positive for Covid-19, the PCB have announced.

The three players, who, according to the board, are all asymptomatic, will now undergo a period of isolation. Imad Wasim and Usman Shinwari were the other players tested in Rawalpindi alongside the trio, with their results coming back as negative. The rest of the players and officials, barring bowling coach Waqar Younis, Shoaib Malik and Cliffe Deacon, all underwent tests, with their results expected back on Tuesday.

The developments lay bare the stark challenges of going ahead with international cricket in these times, with Pakistan's departure for England for a three-Test three-T20I tour less than a week away.

The team is due to arrive in the UK five weeks before the start of the series in August, with the travelling party self-containing in a "bubble" which means they will not contact anyone outside their group. Families are to be prohibited from joining the players, and just last week, Haris Sohail and Mohammad Amir announced they would not take part.

As yet, the entire squad has not been required to go into self-isolation because the team hasn't begun training collectively, but the PCB did advise anyone who had been in contact with the trio to "self-isolate immediately".

According to the protocols laid out by the PCB for the England tour, it is not impossible that the trio may still be able to join the tour at a later date, even though they will not now be permitted to travel with the main squad, which is due to leave for Manchester from Lahore on a specially chartered flight on June 28.

ALSO READ: 'Big risk' - PCB director of sports medicine on England tour

Provided the trio recover after 14 days in isolation and test negative thereafter, they will then be allowed to take a commercial flight to England, where they will be admitted into the bubble that the existing players are in, after following the UK government's guidelines. All players will be tested again when they land in England.

While these are the first three players to test positive from what is expected to be the travelling group, it is not the first time the pandemic has affected Pakistan's preparations for the tour of England.

A fortnight ago, the PCB scrapped plans to host a training camp in Pakistan ahead of the tour, with the rapid growth of cases in the country making it impossible to achieve a bio-secure environment. That necessitated bringing forward the team's departure to England, with the aim of conducting a camp there, where the virus has passed its peak.

Pakistan has seen a surge of Covid-19 cases over the past few weeks, prompting the government to reimpose a partial lockdown earlier this week. The country currently has around 185,000 confirmed cases, which ranks it 13th globally, while it is believed the pandemic has not yet reached its peak in the country.

Last week, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi announced he had tested positive for the virus, and was self-isolating. Taufeeq Umar also contracted the virus, going on to make a full recovery.

Speaking prior to the squad's departure, Dr Sohail Saleem, Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB's) director of sports medicine, conceded that the players were taking a "big risk" embarking on the tour of England in the midst of a pandemic.

"We are trying to build a new normal, redefining etiquette - respiratory marks, hand washing," Dr Saleem said. "It is a combination of many thing to make sure that we are keeping safe or reducing the risk factor to the minimum.

Salary bands in the Hundred are set to be cut by up to 20% for men's players when the competition launches in 2021.

Players were due to earn between £30,000 and £125,000 in the competition this year before the Covid-19 pandemic forced its postponement. Details are still being ironed out, but the range could now be cut to £24,000-£100,000 as English cricket comes to terms with the financial implications of a significantly reduced season.

"There's been up to 20% cuts to county contracts across the last few months - 17% for April and May, 20% for June and July, so far. So some sort of cut across the Hundred would make sense, keeping money in the game to support counties and county players as well," said Daryl Mitchell, chairman of the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA). "I don't think there will be any issues across that."

The 16 players picked at the top price in October's draft included Mitchell Starc, Steve Smith and David Warner - all of whom set their reserve price at £125,000 - and five domestic players: Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy and Dane Vilas. While there may be some concerns over whether top overseas players will still want to play in the competition on a lower wage, it is widely recognised that it would be wrong to freeze the salary pot for the Hundred at a time when so many young county players are concerned about their contract status.

There is also a growing acceptance that some form of partial re-draft will be required for the competition. Contracts for the 2020 season were cancelled at the start of May after the tournament's postponement, and since then regular discussions have taken place between the PCA and the ECB about how the squads will look next year.

ALSO READ: Hundred coaches raise retention questions as player contracts cancelled

Under the Hundred's initial retention rules, teams would have been able to retain up to ten players from their 2020 squad for the 2021 edition, at a salary band negotiated with the player. A mini-draft would then have followed to allow teams to fill the gaps in their squads. There appears to be little appetite for a total re-draft, but also a sense that completely freezing squads will be impossible.

"It's a pretty difficult one from a PCA perspective," Mitchell said. "You've got 96 domestic players in the competition who had contracts for this year, and there's obviously 300 or so that haven't and would love to be a part of it.

"Opinion seems to be split as to whether these rosters should be rolled over or not. I think it's the right thing that there's not going to be a complete re-draft from start to finish, but I think there's going to be an element of retention from each of the teams from the squads they picked.

"I think you need to see what sort of T20 competition is possible this year and how that pans out. Obviously England central contracts will be decided at the end of September or early October, and we don't know what changes there might be from that. Then we need a little bit more clarity about the Future Tours Programme for next year, and also a little bit more clarity about the Kolpak situation for next year. There's so many moving parts around it at the moment."

There are 10 players who won contracts to play as domestic players in the Hundred who are highly unlikely to be eligible to do so next year, Brexit permitting, with some less clear on their status having qualified through EU passports. Discussions are ongoing about that issue, including the possibility that their spots in the Hundred could be frozen for next year, but the legality of that move is unclear.

"There's been things discussed [about that]," Mitchell said. "Whether you can make exceptions for these guys, I don't know. There's legalities around this to consider as well, so I think again it's something that's still on the table.

"We've done quite well with our county reps - I think there are six with Hundred contracts. We've also used our Personal Development Managers (PDMs) who are in contact with all the dressing rooms around the country to canvas opinion."

The salary cuts are unlikely to extend to the women's competition, for which the initial salary bands ranged from £3,600 to £15,000 - significantly lower than the men's. The ECB has announced that equal prize money will be on offer for men and women, but the scale of the disparity of pay between the two competitions raised eyebrows last year.

"They need to be maintained, that's my opinion," Mitchell said. "They're significantly less than the men's salaries at the moment… I don't think the cut across the men's and the women's would necessarily be the same."

Women's cricketers have felt the squeeze from the financial implications of the pandemic harder than their male counterparts. The ECB was due to introduce 40 new contracts for female players this year, but those deals have been put on ice with 24 retainers introduced instead.

Mitchell said that the situation for women's players had been "incredibly tough" but that there was "light at the end of the tunnel" with full contracts for the new regional development centres set to be awarded before the end of the year.

"Credit to the ECB - they've put 24 [players on] retainers to try and help those people out. There's a little bit lacking for a lot of players financially, not playing in the Hundred as well, so it's been tough for some of those players on the fringes who would have expected to become a full-time pro this year.

"But I think there's light at the end of the tunnel with those contracts being awarded at some point in the near future. As chairman, I'm looking forward to being able to welcome 40 women into the PCA as professional members."

Nathan Coulter-Nile and AJ Tye have lost their state contracts with Western Australia while Cameron Gannon, the leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield last season, has had his move confirmed.

Gannon, who played T20I cricket for the USA last year having qualified through his mother's side of the family, took 38 wickets at 20.92 for Queensland in the 2019-2020 campaign, which was truncated by a round due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and becomes one of the more significant off-season deals.

The cutting of Coulter-Nile, who a year ago was part of Australia's World Cup squad but lost his CA contract in April, had been flagged and he is expected to look for opportunity interstate. In the BBL he plays for the Melbourne Stars.

Tye, like Coulter-Nile, is very much a white-ball specialist and has not played a first-class match since 2018. One of the focuses of Adam Voges, the Western Australia coach, was to rebalance the squad with an eye on Sheffield Shield cricket after a poor second half to last season when they were hit by injuries.

Legspinner Liam O'Connor has earned a contract after taking a five-wicket haul on his Western Australia Shield debut last season while pace bowler Lance Morris has been upgraded to a senior contract.

Last season's Sheffield Shield leading wicket-taker Cam Gannon can't wait to start training with the boys! #WESTISBEST pic.twitter.com/VP9KufcwIN

— WACA (@WACA_Cricket) June 23, 2020

"We identified at the end of last season that our bowling depth in Shield cricket and our spin stocks needed a boost and we're really pleased with our new additions to the squad," Voges said. "It's exciting to have Cam [Gannon] come across to the West. He had a terrific season in red-ball cricket being the leading wicket taker in Sheffield Shield cricket and will bring experience and leadership to our young bowling group.

"We were strong in the Marsh Cup last year and will be looking to start the season well in 50-over cricket. Our focus, no doubt, will be to improve our Sheffield Shield results, we were disappointing at the back end of last season and will be looking to rectify that this year."

In the women's squad, which won the WNCL title last season, Victoria legspinner Alana King has made the move across the country. Allrounder Heather Graham has switched to Tasmania and New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine won't be available due to international commitments.

"We are thrilled to have Alana join us from Victoria, she'll bring a wealth of experience to the group having played state cricket for a number of seasons now and provides us with another attacking option with both the bat and ball," head coach Becky Grundy said.

Western Australia men's squad Ashton Agar*, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Jake Carder, Hilton Cartwright, Sam Fanning (rookie), Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Liam Guthrie, Aaron Hardie, Bradley Hope (rookie), Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitchell Marsh*, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Lance Morris, Liam O'Connor, Joel Paris, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson*, Corey Rocchiccioli (rookie), D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman

*CA contracted

Western Australia women's squad Megan Banting, Nicole Bolton, Zoe Britcliffe, Mathilda Carmichael, Piepa Cleary, Sheldyn Cooper, Ashley Day, Amy Edgar, Molly Healy, Alana King, Emma King, Taneale Peschel, Chloe Piparo, Georgia Wyllie

Shane Watson, the president of the Australian Cricketer's Association, has labelled suggestions that the position of the union's chairman, Greg Dyer, is under threat as "absurd reactionary whispers".

In the wake of Kevin Roberts' sacking as Cricket Australia's CEO there had been reports that Dyer was under pressure to move aside as CA and ACA attempt to mend their relationship and prevent an all-out pay dispute.

Prior to Roberts' departure, the ACA had reacted strongly to CA's financial outlook which suggested a 48% reduction in revenue due to Covid-19 despite the increasingly strong prospects of the India tour taking place later this year.

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Those figures are now set to be amended in light of an improving situation and Watson offered a full endorsement of Dyer's position, highlighting the success in protecting the domestic competitions from cuts, the growth of the women's game, securing the revenue-sharing model and the gender equity pay model that was brought in during the acrimonious 2017 pay talks.

"There were some absurd reactionary whispers this week and picked up in the media that just as CA's CEO has resigned, so should Greg move on from the ACA. What nonsense," Watson wrote on the ACA's website.

"Over the last eight years working with him on the ACA Board, I have observed a super impressive guy with an incredible business knowledge and a huge focus on good corporate governance. His perspective is always on point and with the players' wellbeing and the health of the game of cricket at heart.

"So, in an odd week for cricket, perhaps the most bizarre suggestion was that someone so selfless, forward thinking and consistently proven to be correct, time and time again, should consider their position. I look forward to working with him as we look to cricket's next challenges."

In the article, Watson also focused specifically on the importance of retaining the full senior domestic programmes after they had been threatened with cuts. Dyer had previously come out very strongly in opposition of any such moves, criticising CA for not understanding the value of the competitions, and Watson hoped any notion of cutting back had "gone for good."

"For the last five years, the creeping suggestion has been that the Shield and WNCL were 'cost bases' to be reduced rather than investments to be nurtured and that money should instead be spent on new or other pathways," Watson wrote. "To be polite, it is wrong to think that facing a ball machine at 150kph is the same as facing James Pattinson or Tayla Vlaeminck out in the middle.

"It was a trend built on the dangerous idea that performance matters less than potential. It is an idea that is hopefully now gone for good.

"The ACA also welcomes the reconsideration of CA's planned cuts to state grants and cricket revenue forecasts. As expressed by the ACA... the cuts and reforecasts were premature. They needed to be rethought and it is good that they are."

Premier League club Burnley has condemned a plane towing a banner declaring "White Lives Matter Burnley" that flew over Manchester City's Etihad Stadium before Monday's match between the two clubs.

"Burnley Football Club strongly condemns the actions of those responsible for the aircraft and offensive banner that flew over The Etihad Stadium on Monday evening," a statement released on the club's website at half-time said.

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"We wish to make it clear that those responsible are not welcome at Turf Moor. This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and issue lifetime bans.

"The club has a proud record of working with all genders, religions and faiths through its award-winning Community scheme, and stands against racism of any kind.

"We are fully behind the Premier League's Black Lives Matter initiative and, in line with all other Premier League games undertaken since Project Restart, our players and football staff willingly took the knee at kick-off at Manchester City.

"We apologise unreservedly to the Premier League, to Manchester City and to all those helping to promote Black Lives Matter."

The plane appeared shortly after players from both teams took a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

There was no indication of who organised the plane and banner.

After the match, Burnley defender Ben Mee told reporters that the players had heard rumblings that a display would be made minutes before kickoff.

"We literally heard as we were coming out. We heard some whispers it was going to happen. The club tried to stop it, but I've heard it's a small number of people who've arranged this. Hope it doesn't happen again," Mee said. "I'm ashamed and upset it's associated with the club, my club, and it's not something we want to see in this game."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche said that he knew nothing of the banner and that the club could only apologise for its appearance.

"I didn't realise what had gone on at the beginning. Heard noise. Unacceptable. We can only apologise," Dyche said after the match. "I don't know what the club can do to send a message out. The powers that be will look at the way we can play our part."

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who last week said that white people should apologise for the treatment of Black people, said the banner's message missed the point of the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Of course white lives matter, but black lives matter, too. Human beings matter. Everyone, we are the same. I travel a lot around the world and live in many countries, and every one of us, we are the same," he told reporters. "Every day we have to fight not just for the situation but for all the injustice around the world."

Former England and Manchester City defender Micah Richards says he was disheartened to see the plane carrying its banner.

"It's so disheartening. After how far we've come in the last couple of weeks, it really does hurt me," Richards told Sky Sports.

"I agree, everyone should have free speech, but just at a time when things are on the up, a small fraction just want to spoil things.

"Burnley have come out and condemned it, but it just shows you -- I speak to a lot of people who say, 'all that stuff happens in America, it doesn't happen in England.'

"... We can wear t-shirts, we can do 'Black Lives Matter' protests, and slowly we're getting better. But it just shows today, that although it's a small minority, it's still happening."

All players in the 12 Premier League games since the restart of the season after the coronavirus pandemic stoppage have worn "Black Lives Matter" on their shirts in place of their names in response to the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, who died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, kneeled on his neck for nearly eight minutes in Minneapolis. Floyd's death has spurred demonstrations against racial injustice around the world as well as in sport.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

In front of a horde of NASCAR fans, many of whom were wearing "Black Lives Matter" and "I Can't Breathe" T-shirts, Bubba Wallace said "the sport is changing" after an emotional race Monday at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama.

Wallace, NASCAR's only Black full-time driver, was joined by all 39 other drivers and their crews in a march down pit road as they pushed his No. 43 to the front of the line in the moments before the race. The gesture came one day after a noose was found in Wallace's garage stall. When the group reached the front line Monday, Wallace climbed out of his car and wept.

If not for a shortage of fuel, Wallace might have had a chance to race for the win. A late stop for gas led to a 14th-place finish, but Monday still felt like a win for Wallace. He went to the fence and, through the wiring, slapped hands with a group of fans as they cheered.

He apologized for not wearing a mandatory mask but said he didn't put it on because "I wanted to show whoever it was: You are not going to take away my smile.''

"This sport is changing,'' he said. "The prerace deal was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to witness in my life. From all the supporters, from drivers to crew members, everybody here, the badass fan base, thank you guys for coming out. This is truly incredible, and I'm glad to be a part of this sport.''

Ryan Blaney, who won Monday's race in a photo finish, said Wallace has been one of his best friends for 15 years, and he called the prerace show of support a special moment.

"And it showed how you're not gonna scare [Wallace]. You're not gonna scare him," Blaney told ESPN's Scott Van Pelt. "He's really strong. He's gonna rise above it and fight this.

"So we just wanted to show our support. I wanted to show my support for my best friend. He's just been someone I've really, really loved for a long time, and I'm gonna support him 100 percent along the way for many years to come. I hope a lot of people will look at that and learn from everyone coming together and supporting each other. That's what it's gonna take to make things better."

The idea for the gesture came up Monday. Jimmie Johnson said in a drivers chat that he would stand with Wallace during the national anthem. Then Kevin Harvick shared the idea that the drivers should push Wallace's car to the front.

"I'm happy to play a role in it. I want to. I know I need to," Johnson said after his 13th-place finish. "And I feel like to see the garage area stand up as they have as well in the last few weeks, and then again today, is sending a very strong message, and I'm very proud of our sport."

Standing alongside Wallace for the national anthem was Richard Petty, the 82-year-old Hall of Fame driver known as "The King.'' Wallace drives the No. 43 Chevrolet for Petty, who issued a scathing rebuke after the noose was found, calling for the "sick person'' to be expelled from NASCAR forever, a move that NASCAR president Steve Phelps insisted will happen when the person is caught.

Sources told ESPN's Marty Smith that Petty decided to travel to Talladega after the noose was found and that he said the "most important thing for me right now is hugging my driver." This marked the first race Petty had attended since the sport was shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Workers painted "#IStandWithBubbaWallace'' on the infield grass before Monday's race, which was postponed from Sunday because of inclement weather.

Two weeks ago, Wallace successfully pushed NASCAR to ban the Confederate flag at its venues, though the sanctioning body has not outlined how it will enforce the restriction. Disgruntled fans with Confederate flags drove past the main entrance to the Alabama race track prior to Sunday's race, and a plane flew above the track pulling a banner of the flag that read "Defund NASCAR."

Hours after the race was postponed by rain, NASCAR said the noose had been found. The sanctioning body vowed to do everything possible to find who was responsible and "eliminate them from the sport." Wallace said in a statement Sunday that he was "incredibly saddened" by the act.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she was "shocked and appalled'' by the "vile act'' against Wallace, an Alabama native.

"There is no place for this disgusting display of hatred in our state,'' Ivey said. "Bubba Wallace is one of us. He is a native of Mobile, and on behalf of all Alabamians, I apologize to Bubba Wallace as well as to his family and friends for the hurt this has caused and regret the mark this leaves on our state.''

Talladega County Sheriff Jimmy Kilgore said NASCAR contacted the FBI, which is handling the investigation. The FBI field office in Birmingham, Alabama, did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.

Officials at Sonoma Raceway in California said Monday that they are looking into what could be a similar incident after "a piece of twine tied in what appeared to be a noose" was found "hanging from a tree on raceway property" on Saturday. The track's president said the incident is under investigation by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department.

After Monday's race at Talladega Superspeedway, Aric Almirola, who finished third, said he was speechless when he found out that a noose had been found in Wallace's garage stall.

"So you see people lash out and show signs of evil and darkness, and it just comes from a bad place," Almirola said. "And I think the most important thing you can respond with that is light and love. And showing how to stand up and how to show positivity and have a heart. And I feel like, as an industry, that's what we did today."

Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. took to Twitter to offer his support for Wallace in the wake of Sunday's incident.

I don't worry about our sport. I have confidence NASCAR's leadership will find who did this and continue pushing us in the right direction. I do worry about Bubba. I hope Bubba is feeling loved and supported. Keep sending him that love and support. He needs it now more than ever.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 22, 2020

Lewis Hamilton, Formula One's only Black driver and its reigning champion, also offered his support via Instagram.

"It's disgusting that this is happening, stay safe and alert out there bro," Hamilton wrote. "Supporting you from afar, proud of you."

After the race Monday, Wallace said he is going to "keep on truckin'" and looks forward to racing next weekend at Pocono Raceway.

"Hey, I'm still smiling," he said. "Long week ahead of me -- probably a couple weeks, probably a couple months. ... So I'll be ready for Pocono."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.