BURNLEY CONDEMN ‘WHITE LIVES MATTER’ BANNER AS CITY HIT FIVE
Man City 5 Burnley 0
WHAT on another day would be remembered as an authoritative Manchester City win over Burnley was instead overshadowed by a shameful reminder that, despite all the Premier League’s positive work regarding the Black Lives Matter movement, English football’s fight against racism is far from won.
After a difficult night on the pitch, Burnley captain Ben Mee condemned the act which saw a plane fly over the Etihad trailing a banner reading ‘White Lives Matter – Burnley’, moments after players, staff and officials took the knee in solidarity with the protests since the killing of George Floyd, as has happened before kick-off across the top flight since the beginning of Project Restart.
The plane circled overhead long enough for several players to spot it, including captain Mee who said he was “ashamed” after the game.
“We as a group of players condemn it, we’re ashamed, we’re embarrassed,” he said. “It completely misses the point of what we’re trying to achieve as a football community.
“It’s a minority of our supporters, I know I speak for a massive part of our support who distance ourselves from anything like that. It definitely had a had massive impact on us to see that in the sky.
“We were embarrassed, disappointed, upset. We are embarrassed that our name was in it. That they tried to attach it to our club. It doesn’t belong anywhere near our club. Fans like that don’t deserve to be around football.”
The club, too, were quick to voice their disapproval in a strongly worded club statement.
“This, in no way, represents what Burnley Football Club stands for and we will work fully with the authorities to identify those responsible and take appropriate action,” the statement read.
Those events in the very first minutes would eclipse a dominant City victory, which means that Liverpool cannot be crowned Premier League champions against Crystal Palace tomorrow night.
This fixture decided the league title in 1960 as Burnley were crowned champions after a 2-1 win at Maine Road but the likelihood of a repeat result was always slim.
Phil Foden, following his late goal in last Wednesday’s win over Arsenal, scored twice and had a hand in two others as the defending Premier League champions and closest challengers to Liverpool ran out 5-0 winners.
Riyad Mahrez – one of the few retained from the win over Arsenal – bagged a brace at the close of the first half, with his second coming from the penalty spot, while captain David Silva was also on the scoresheet. The only worry for City was an apparent injury to Sergio Aguero, who was felled for the penalty.
Exacerbate
There was evidence of how the pandemic could exacerbate Premier League financial disparities in the team sheets. Whereas City’s strength in depth meant that Pep Guardiola felt able to make eight changes, Sean Dyche could not fill his substitutes’ bench. Due to a combination of injuries and uncertainty over contracts which are set to expire, Burnley had just seven players in reserve rather than the newly-permitted nine.
City could be confident of victory from the moment Foden’s 22nd-minute breakthrough beat a helpless Nick Pope. The teenager found Pope’s bottom right-hand corner sweetly after taking aim from the edge of the penalty area.
Gareth Southgate recently said Foden must earn more playing time under Guardiola before he can be considered for an international call-up, but the England manager will have been watching from home with interest.
Mahrez’s double came on the cusp of half-time. The first followed the type of mazy right-wing run that he has excelled with in an impressive second season at the Etihad, one which beat left-back Charlie Taylor all ends up before the winger’s composed finish.
Mee was then at fault, felling Aguero, with the spot-kick awarded by VAR. Aguero would likely have taken the kick had he stayed on, but Mahrez stepped up in his place to convert.
City’s lead was extended at the start of the second half by Silva. After Foden’s pass cut through Burnley’s lines, Bernardo Silva squared for his namesake to finish at close range. Foden then capped off his memorable
week, arriving late at the back post with a finish that Pope’s boot could not prevent from running over the goal-line.
With the full time whistle, the Premier League’s first full round of Project Restart fixtures was complete.
For the most part, the restart has been evidence of football’s power to cohere around strong and progressive social movements and causes, yet the defining image of its final game should remind us that there is no room for self-congratulation or complacency. (© Independent News Service)