This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
On Wednesday, June 17, the Premier League made its highly anticipated comeback, but the excitement was short-lived as a technology controversy marred the opening match between Aston Villa and Sheffield United.
Goalkeeper Orjan Nyland's blunder, where he stumbled back into his own goal with the ball, was not detected by either goalline technology or VAR, allowing the struggling outfit to escape with a goalless draw.
The incident sparked outrage among the United players, who appealed wildly to the referee, Michael Oliver, but to no avail. Hawk-Eye, the technology provider, later admitted that its seven cameras had all missed a goal that could have seriously damaged United's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Meanwhile, the Premier League's return was also marked by a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. All four teams in Wednesday's fixtures took a knee in honour of the movement, with the players wearing shirts bearing the slogan throughout the match.
The gesture comes following the death of black American George Floyd at the hands of police last month, which sparked protests around the world and led to sports people showing solidarity with those demonstrations.
Manchester City's Raheem Sterling, who had not scored for the team in 2020, ended his drought with a goal against Arsenal in a 3-0 win. Sterling has been one of Britain's most vocal footballers on the subject of racism and said on Tuesday that
