Technology

If it was sporting controversy you missed, the Premier League restarted Wednesday in a big way. Relegation-threatened Aston Villa hosted European-hopeful Sheffield United at an empty Villa Park, and things descended into chaos shortly before halftime.

Sheffield should’ve opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a free kick that ended up in the back of Villa’s net, but that’s apparently not the definition of a goal anymore in our new normal.

LaLiga will use virtual images of stands in television broadcasts with added “fan audio,” produced by the makers of the FIFA video game, when it returns to action on Thursday.

Domestic broadcasters in Spain will offer their viewers the choice of a “natural” broadcast of games played behind closed doors with no fans but the international audience will receive only the enhanced broadcasts with added audio and graphics.

Tel Aviv's Bloomfield Stadium has installed a special tunnel to spray soccer players arriving for matches with a fine disinfectant mist to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.

The pilot of the tunnel, which will run until the end of the season, comes as sports leagues around the globe are preparing to resume play but grappling with how to ensure the health of players and fans. Israel's soccer league has resumed but behind closed doors.

European football will continue its cautious return to play following the COVID-19 stoppage over the next week as a number of the continent's smaller leagues restart with some novelties and one team in serious trouble for breaking coronavirus rules. 

Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine are among countries which will again be able to enjoy league football, albeit in unusual circumstances with no spectators allowed at games. They join Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia and the Faroe Islands where play has already restarted. 

Welcome to our wall-to-wall coverage of Day 2 of the FIFA Stay and Play Cup — it's the first four matches of the Round of 16!

If you missed yesterday’s play-in round, catch up on all the action here. Wednesday was dominated by Scandinavian clubs while Marseille, Valencia, PSV and Helsinki all ate it. 

Following Burundi’s announcement on Monday that its league is now suspended, one of the final bastions of actual football in the world fell by the wayside. So what do we do now? If you’re jonesing for some familiar faces and the sight of that sphere rolling around a green carpet, FIFA 20 has got you covered this week with the beginning of two massive tournaments featuring some world-renowned players.

If you are not technologically savvy or you’re not in the know and think TikTok is just the sound a clock makes, then you are in for a cringy-yet-entertaining explanation. 

TikTok has taken over.

TikTok is a video platform where trendy dances, pranks, fails and lip-syncing songs trend throughout the platform with thousands of views. Not only is TikTok the home to a bunch of young teens, but several professional football clubs have joined the trend and trust me you do not want to miss out on this.

Two stats stood out ahead of today’s Premier League match between Sheffield and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane: (1) Andy Carroll was handed his first Newcastle start in almost nine years and (2) Martin Dúbravka was busy making his 65th straight EPL appearance for the Toon, a run which began directly following his move from Sparta Prague back in January of 2018.

Both players played massive roles in Newcastle’s bizarre 2-0 victory.