Human Interest

AMSTERDAM — The Dutch men's and women's national football team players said on Friday they would no longer grant interviews to a popular TV show due to remarks made by a commentator mocking an anti-racism protester.

In a statement first published on Twitter by men's team captain Virgil van Dijk, the players said they would no longer speak with the Veronica Inside program after the host compared a prominent Dutch black activist to "Black Pete."

On Friday, exactly 155 years after Union troops marched into Galveston, Texas, to announce to all enslaved people in Texas they were free, more than 70 black players in MLS joined together to announce the creation the Black Players Coalition to fight the racial inequalities in that still exist in the league and the country. 

Last night in Rome, Napoli captured the Coppa Italia by defeating Juventus on penalties to send Naples into raptures. There are few cities on the planet that are so culturally and socially intertwined with their football club, and a first major honor since 2014 — coupled with the fact that it was achieved against Cristiano Ronaldo and 94-year rival Juve — drew fans out onto the streets to celebrate into the early hours.

Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has said he will ensure 3,000 trees are planted for every victory by his team over the rest of the season to highlight the need to tackle climate change.

"For every game we win this season I will plant 3,000 trees to help combat the carbon emissions issues we have," the Spain international said on Twitter.

Aston Villa and Sheffield United re-started the Premier League on Wednesday after a 100-day hiatus caused by the COVID-19 health crisis with a strong statement of support for the worldwide protests against racism.

All the players' names on the back of their shirts were replaced with the words “Black Lives Matter” as the Premier League formally joined the international protest campaign sparked by the death of George Floyd in America.