bbc--2020-10-02--NFL: Fritz Pollard's pioneering role in American football history

Fritz Pollard Jr suffered from Alzheimer 's during the final years of his life , but just before he died there was a moment of clarity .
That quest had also been his own - to get his father into the US Pro Football Hall of Fame .
Some 27 years before Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in baseball , Fritz Pollard was the best player for the first NFL champions in 1920 .
In a decade during which hundreds of African-Americans were still being lynched , he was playing a 'white man 's game ' when the NFL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1921 , Pollard became the league 's first black coach and in 1923 its first black quarterback .
Yet after he retired , the doors he forced open were slammed shut by a 'gentleman 's agreement ' that saw African-Americans banned from 1934 until 1946 .
By the time the NFL 's second black head coach was appointed in 1989 , Pollard , who died in 1986 , had long been written out of the history books .
But his family 's quest finally came to fruition in 2005 when - two years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was inducted into the Hall of Fame .
Now , the power of his legacy is growing through an organisation that bears his name .
The Fritz Pollard Alliance was in 2016 one of the first to support Colin Kaepernick , another black quarterback who has had to wait for the significance of his deeds to be acknowledged by his sport .
And yet , still very few NFL fans have even heard of Pollard .
His is a story for too long left untold .
The Pollards were well known in Rogers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ side of Chicago .
Pollard 's Barber Shop was a popular neighbourhood hang-out and the Pollard boys played football for hours in the local park .
They were the suburb 's only black family .
Coming out of the Reconstruction era which followed the American Civil War , the Pollards wanted to live free from the racial oppression of segregation laws in the south and had moved from Oklahoma in 1886 .
Mother Amanda was a respected seamstress while father John was a successful businessman .
After escaping slavery , he had fought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Born Frederick Douglass Pollard in 1894 - after the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass - his nickname Fritz reflected Rogers Park 's predominantly German make-up .
During high school Pollard was actually a better baseball player , but he knew he would n't be able to progress .
At that time , black players were banned from the sport .
American football was different .
His three older brothers all played the game and felt black players could do well - if they adhered to an unwritten code of conduct .
They taught @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despite the provocation he was sure to face .
Fritz was gifted with speed and elusiveness but he was small .
When he began playing football aged 15 in 1909 , he measured 4ft 11ins and weighed 89 pounds .
His brothers decided they had to toughen him up .
They knew he 'd be targeted because of his size and skin colour .
All eight of the Pollard children graduated from high school and excelled at athletics or music .
The family had prospered .
Their move north had paid off .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Rockefeller Scholarship at Brown University , an Ivy League school in Providence , Rhode Island , on the United States ' east coast .
Everything he learnt from his brothers was about to be put to the test .
Pollard was one of only two African-Americans at Brown in 1915 and the first to live on campus .
When he showed up for football practice that September , none of the players wanted him on the team .
One of his team-mates , Irving Fraser , later told Pollard 's biographer Jay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they 'd all pile on him and see if they could make him quit .
But Fritz would get up laughing and smiling every time .
I never saw him angry . ''
'Bloody Wednesdays ' were the scrimmages where reserve players could challenge starters for a spot on the team .
When an opposing linebacker greeted Pollard with a deeply offensive racial slur , he responded by waltzing past him and into the end zone .
Pollard asked to run the play twice more and scored two more touchdowns .
`` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the linebacker told the coach .
Aged 21 , Pollard was only 5ft 8ins - small for football , even then .
But the fleet-footed running back quickly became the team 's star player , dubbed 'the human torpedo ' because he ran so low to the turf .
In his freshman year , he was the only black player in the Ivy League and Brown 's win over Yale saw them earn an invite to the Rose Bowl in January 1916 .
On the train out west to Los Angeles , even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The same players that shunned Pollard four months earlier were now bringing him food .
They also threatened not to play when he was denied a room in LA .
Eventually the hotel relented .
For the game at Yale , Pollard had been smuggled into the stadium via a separate gate .
It was one of many measures he 'd take to avoid being targeted , verbally and physically , by fans and players alike , across the game 's heartland of the American Northeast and Midwest .
Imagine NFL stars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jackson having to arrive moments before kick-off and being driven on to the field .
Sometimes Pollard 's team stayed in centre-field at half-time rather than run the gauntlet of going into the locker room .
The Yale supporters also turned 'Bye Bye Blackbird ' , a popular song of the day , into a racially abusive anthem .
Rival fans would taunt Pollard with it throughout his career .
As he recalled the song in his final interview with Berry before his death in 1986 , tears rolled down his cheek .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ beat Yale and Harvard on consecutive weekends .
It was the first time a team had beaten them both in the same season , and Pollard won each game almost single-handedly .
Brown finished with an 8-1 record , with their star player selected in the All-America team .
Pollard left a lasting impression in Providence .
There are three awards in his name at Brown and in the 1970s , when his grandson Fritz III played football there , a local shop owner refused to take his money and said : `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grandfather play .
It was the best game I 'd ever seen . ''
Academic difficulties meant Pollard 's college career was cut short .
In 1917 he enlisted in the army , serving as a physical director in Maryland while coaching at the all-black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania .
He feared he had squandered any chance of playing professional football .
Then came a telegram that changed everything .
`` They threw rocks at me and called me all kinds of names .
But I was there to play football .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fellas trying to hurt me . ''
The US summer of 1919 was known as the Red Summer .
Race riots took place across the country .
Hundreds of black people were killed by white supremacists .
Some of the worst violence took place in Pollard 's home town of Chicago .
Pollard himself was now in the factory town of Akron , Ohio .
The new owner of a team there had got in touch with him .
His professional career was finally about to begin .
At his first game , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ owner 's cigar shop and was abused by his own team 's fans .
In his second , he faced future Hall of Famer Jim Thorpe .
As a native American , Thorpe had battled racial prejudice to become a multi-sport star , winning golds in decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics .
Yet he welcomed Pollard with a highly abusive racial slur , saying he was going to kill him .
Pollard told him : `` You 'll find me down there in your end zone . ''
Pollard and Thorpe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the main attractions .
Still , many were motivated to see them by the opportunity for abuse .
The following 1920 season was the first for the American Professional Football Association - renamed the NFL in 1922 - and the Akron Pros went undefeated , outscoring their opponents 151-7 .
Pollard was the only Akron player named in the All-Pro side , but when the team received their championship trophy , he was n't invited .
He was honoured instead at a separate banquet held by a local black business association .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finished as the league 's top scorer .
He could do everything - he played on offence and defence .
As well as being a running back , he was a defensive back , receiver , kicker , punt returner and kick-off returner .
Then in November 1923 , after switching teams , he played an entire game at quarterback for the Hammond Pros .
It would be almost half a century until the NFL next had a black starting quarterback .
In his seven-year pro career , Pollard played for four NFL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania .
Segregation laws had been abolished in the northern states , but with many southerners migrating for work in the rubber factories of Ohio and the coal mines of Pennsylvania , he continued to experience racial discrimination almost everywhere he played .
As his team returned from one game in Gilberton , the train 's windows were shot out .
`` You could n't eat in the restaurants or stay in the hotels , '' Pollard told the New York Times in 1978 .
`` Hammond and Milwaukee were bad , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had some prejudiced people there .
The opposing teams gave me hell too . ''
Teams would take kick-offs short , so that Pollard could be gang-tackled as soon as he received the ball .
If the field was a quagmire , his face would be held in the water .
But he combated such treatment with tricks he learned from his brothers .
When returning kick-offs , he often dived to the floor , leaving the tacklers to collide with each other , before getting back to his feet to continue running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'd flip on to his back and pedal his feet in the air to stop opponents piling on to him .
Pollard ended his playing career in 1926 , aged 32 .
He continued to promote the integration of more black players .
He coached and managed all-black teams in exhibition games , giving them a chance to showcase their talent .
By February 1933 , there had been 13 black players in the NFL .
Then a fateful meeting took place in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania .
Fritz III says his grandfather felt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ n't voted into the Hall of Fame during his lifetime : George Halas and George Preston Marshall .
Halas was involved with the Chicago Bears from their creation in 1920 until his death in 1983 , first as a player , then coach and team owner .
Marshall was an avowed segregationist who owned the Washington football franchise from its inception in 1932 to his death in 1969 .
He called the team Redskins in 1933 , a racial slur that was only dropped in July this year amid mounting pressure .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was removed in June , along with all other references to him , after it was spray-painted with the words `` change the name '' .
Both he and Halas were at that meeting of team owners in 1933 , when Marshall pitched the idea of banning black players .
With the US in the depths of the Great Depression and millions of white people unemployed , he argued that paying black men to play football would be bad for business .
Pollard felt Halas held a personal grudge going back to when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chicago , and that he also played a prominent role in the ban being approved .
For decades the team owners claimed there was no unwritten agreement .
The NFL has now acknowledged it did exist .
It did n't end until the Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington in 1946 , and the NFL was n't fully reintegrated until 1962 .
Marshall 's Washington team was the last to sign a black player - after the government threatened to revoke the team 's lease on their publicly funded stadium if they did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the College Hall of Fame in 1954 .
But when the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963 , he was not among the charter class of 17 inductees .
Five of the 11 men who had agreed to ban black players were , however .
At that time Pollard was 69 and the owner of several business ventures .
After his playing career , he 'd moved to New York with the Harlem Renaissance still in full swing and had become a talent agent , booking black entertainers for films @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sun Tan Studios , where the likes of Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole rehearsed , and produced music videos called 'soundies ' .
He founded a newspaper , and set up an investment fund and a company trading coal .
He later worked as a tax and public relations consultant .
`` If anybody had the right to be angry about the way he was treated it was my grandfather , but he never showed it , '' says Fritz III .
`` He always let his skills on the field , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who he was .
That 's something that was drummed into me . ''
After Pollard , the second black starting quarterback was Marlin Briscoe in 1968 .
His case is typical of a process called 'racial stacking ' which still influences the number of black head coaches we see today .
There have been 24 in total , with three currently among the 32 teams , despite about 70 % of NFL players being from ethnic minorities .
Briscoe passed for 14 touchdowns in 1968 - still a Denver Broncos record for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Denver held quarterback meetings without him and he asked to be released .
He never played quarterback again .
`` African-Americans have historically been drummed out of the quarterback position and shifted into more 'athletic ' positions like wide receiver , defensive back or running back , '' says Professor N Jeremi Duru of American University in Washington DC , one of the leading experts in US sports law and discrimination .
`` Offensive co-ordinators tend to come from quarterbacks , and head coaches from offensive co-ordinators , so the pipeline is thin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ players in so-called 'thinking ' positions . ''
When the Los Angeles Raiders hired Art Shell as head coach in 1989 , he was asked in a live broadcast how it felt to be the NFL 's first black coach .
`` But I 'm not , '' he said .
`` The first was Fritz Pollard . ''
Fritz III recalls : `` You could see all the reporters going 'who 's Fritz Pollard ? '
They had to cut to a commercial and then my phone just blew up with people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ' . ''
Pollard had died just three years before , at the age of 92 , but so many people were only hearing his name for the first time .
It was time for his family to take up the story .
Pollard 's son Fritz Jr competed at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany , winning a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles before serving in the US army in World War II .
His grandson , Fritz III , became a three-sport All-American at college .
As Fritz Jr handed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1990s , Fritz III began contacting each member of the Hall of Fame 's 48-person selection committee , stating his grandfather 's case for inclusion .
They 'd then verify the information .
`` They could n't find anything so I said 'you 're looking in the wrong papers ' , '' says Fritz III .
`` After I told them about the historically black newspapers , a guy in Mississippi called back and said 'did you know your grandfather averaged hundreds of yards a game ? '
I said 'yeah , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been telling you ' . ''
Fritz III 's daughter Meredith Kaye Russell , born in 1988 , also joined the cause , helping with research and acting as her father 's secretary .
`` It was a literal fight , '' she says .
`` My dad was a single parent , and when he was n't working all the hours he did it was phone call after phone call , meeting after meeting , trying to get my great-grandfather 's name out there . ''
What also helped build momentum was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ champions diversity and the hiring of NFL coaches , scouts and front-office staff from minority backgrounds .
Fritz III gave his permission to name it the Fritz Pollard Alliance ( FPA ) .
The FPA negotiated with the NFL to establish a rule requiring teams to interview at least one ethnic minority candidate for each head coach vacancy .
It was named the Rooney Rule after Dan Rooney , former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers , who at the time was chairman of the NFL 's diversity committee .
In 2020 , there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as when the rule was instituted .
For this reason the FPA has in recent years been vocal in flagging potential violations of the rule while seeking to enhance it .
The rule now applies to general managers and co-ordinators too .
The FPA meets with the NFL formally twice a year to discuss proposals and collate a list of qualified minority candidates ready for interview .
`` The league was challenged with a report showing that , essentially , African-Americans were the last hired and first fired , '' says Duru , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inception .
`` Now it 's a healthy engagement , an exchange of ideas and not always agreement , but overall it 's a working relationship with open lines of communication . ''
For Meredith , who teaches children aged three to eight , Pollard 's legacy has a power stretching beyond family and football .
`` My students know I get so mad at them if they call themselves 'stupid ' .
If they think they ca n't do something or belittle themselves .
I will not have that , '' she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who paved the way , who showed there is hope .
Do n't let anyone tell you 'no ' .
Keep working , keep going .
It was really important to us as a family to get that known .
`` Even if it helps just one person in the same situation as my great-grandfather , with the odds stacked against them , to persevere and make something of themselves , then it was worth it . ''

Fritz Pollard was the first black quarterback in the NFL - and its first black coach
Fritz Pollard Jr suffered from Alzheimer's during the final years of his life, but just before he died there was a moment of clarity.
With his last words, spoken to his family in 2003, he said: "Don't forget your quest."
That quest had also been his own - to get his father into the US Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Some 27 years before Jackie Robinson broke the colour barrier in baseball, Fritz Pollard was the best player for the first NFL champions in 1920.
In a decade during which hundreds of African-Americans were still being lynched, he was playing a 'white man's game' when the NFL was in its brutal infancy.
In 1921, Pollard became the league's first black coach and in 1923 its first black quarterback. Yet after he retired, the doors he forced open were slammed shut by a 'gentleman's agreement' that saw African-Americans banned from 1934 until 1946.
By the time the NFL's second black head coach was appointed in 1989, Pollard, who died in 1986, had long been written out of the history books.
But his family's quest finally came to fruition in 2005 when - two years after his son's death - Pollard was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Now, the power of his legacy is growing through an organisation that bears his name. The Fritz Pollard Alliance was in 2016 one of the first to support Colin Kaepernick, another black quarterback who has had to wait for the significance of his deeds to be acknowledged by his sport.
And yet, still very few NFL fans have even heard of Pollard. His is a story for too long left untold.
The Pollards were well known in Rogers Park, a suburb on the north side of Chicago. Pollard's Barber Shop was a popular neighbourhood hang-out and the Pollard boys played football for hours in the local park. They were the suburb's only black family.
Coming out of the Reconstruction era which followed the American Civil War, the Pollards wanted to live free from the racial oppression of segregation laws in the south and had moved from Oklahoma in 1886.
Mother Amanda was a respected seamstress while father John was a successful businessman. After escaping slavery, he had fought for the Union during the Civil War.
Born Frederick Douglass Pollard in 1894 - after the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass - his nickname Fritz reflected Rogers Park's predominantly German make-up.
During high school Pollard was actually a better baseball player, but he knew he wouldn't be able to progress. At that time, black players were banned from the sport. American football was different.
His three older brothers all played the game and felt black players could do well - if they adhered to an unwritten code of conduct. They taught Fritz that he could never retaliate, despite the provocation he was sure to face.
Fritz was gifted with speed and elusiveness but he was small. When he began playing football aged 15 in 1909, he measured 4ft 11ins and weighed 89 pounds. His brothers decided they had to toughen him up. They knew he'd be targeted because of his size and skin colour.
Pollard, pictured circa 1919 in his kit to play a match
All eight of the Pollard children graduated from high school and excelled at athletics or music. The family had prospered. Their move north had paid off. Fritz, the standout achiever, earned a Rockefeller Scholarship at Brown University, an Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island, on the United States' east coast.
Everything he learnt from his brothers was about to be put to the test.
Pollard was one of only two African-Americans at Brown in 1915 and the first to live on campus. When he showed up for football practice that September, none of the players wanted him on the team.
One of his team-mates, Irving Fraser, later told Pollard's biographer Jay Berry: "When he was tackled, they'd all pile on him and see if they could make him quit. But Fritz would get up laughing and smiling every time. I never saw him angry."
'Bloody Wednesdays' were the scrimmages where reserve players could challenge starters for a spot on the team. When an opposing linebacker greeted Pollard with a deeply offensive racial slur, he responded by waltzing past him and into the end zone. Pollard asked to run the play twice more and scored two more touchdowns.
"We better let him play," the linebacker told the coach.
Aged 21, Pollard was only 5ft 8ins - small for football, even then. But the fleet-footed running back quickly became the team's star player, dubbed 'the human torpedo' because he ran so low to the turf. In his freshman year, he was the only black player in the Ivy League and Brown's win over Yale saw them earn an invite to the Rose Bowl in January 1916.
A 1916 illustration describes scenes from a Brown-Harvard game in which Pollard played a key role
On the train out west to Los Angeles, even black porters refused to wait on him. The same players that shunned Pollard four months earlier were now bringing him food. They also threatened not to play when he was denied a room in LA. Eventually the hotel relented.
For the game at Yale, Pollard had been smuggled into the stadium via a separate gate. It was one of many measures he'd take to avoid being targeted, verbally and physically, by fans and players alike, across the game's heartland of the American Northeast and Midwest.
Imagine NFL stars of today like Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson having to arrive moments before kick-off and being driven on to the field. Sometimes Pollard's team stayed in centre-field at half-time rather than run the gauntlet of going into the locker room.
The Yale supporters also turned 'Bye Bye Blackbird', a popular song of the day, into a racially abusive anthem. Rival fans would taunt Pollard with it throughout his career. As he recalled the song in his final interview with Berry before his death in 1986, tears rolled down his cheek.
But in the 1916 season, Brown beat Yale and Harvard on consecutive weekends. It was the first time a team had beaten them both in the same season, and Pollard won each game almost single-handedly. Brown finished with an 8-1 record, with their star player selected in the All-America team.
Pollard left a lasting impression in Providence. There are three awards in his name at Brown and in the 1970s, when his grandson Fritz III played football there, a local shop owner refused to take his money and said: "My father took me to see your grandfather play. It was the best game I'd ever seen."
Academic difficulties meant Pollard's college career was cut short. In 1917 he enlisted in the army, serving as a physical director in Maryland while coaching at the all-black Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He feared he had squandered any chance of playing professional football.
Then came a telegram that changed everything.
"They threw rocks at me and called me all kinds of names. But I was there to play football. I had to duck the rocks and the fellas trying to hurt me."
The US summer of 1919 was known as the Red Summer. Race riots took place across the country. Hundreds of black people were killed by white supremacists. Some of the worst violence took place in Pollard's home town of Chicago.
Pollard himself was now in the factory town of Akron, Ohio. The new owner of a team there had got in touch with him. His professional career was finally about to begin.
At his first game, he had to get dressed in the owner's cigar shop and was abused by his own team's fans. In his second, he faced future Hall of Famer Jim Thorpe.
As a native American, Thorpe had battled racial prejudice to become a multi-sport star, winning golds in decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics. Yet he welcomed Pollard with a highly abusive racial slur, saying he was going to kill him. Pollard told him: "You'll find me down there in your end zone."
Pollard and Thorpe were pro football's highest-paid players, the main attractions. Still, many were motivated to see them by the opportunity for abuse.
The 1920 Akron Pros team photo - Pollard is at the right-hand end of the front row
The following 1920 season was the first for the American Professional Football Association - renamed the NFL in 1922 - and the Akron Pros went undefeated, outscoring their opponents 151-7.
Pollard was the only Akron player named in the All-Pro side, but when the team received their championship trophy, he wasn't invited. He was honoured instead at a separate banquet held by a local black business association.
In 1921, Pollard was made player-coach and finished as the league's top scorer. He could do everything - he played on offence and defence. As well as being a running back, he was a defensive back, receiver, kicker, punt returner and kick-off returner.
Then in November 1923, after switching teams, he played an entire game at quarterback for the Hammond Pros. It would be almost half a century until the NFL next had a black starting quarterback.
Pollard served as physical director of the YMCA unit at Camp Meade, Maryland in 1918
In his seven-year pro career, Pollard played for four NFL teams plus two in rival leagues in Pennsylvania. Segregation laws had been abolished in the northern states, but with many southerners migrating for work in the rubber factories of Ohio and the coal mines of Pennsylvania, he continued to experience racial discrimination almost everywhere he played. As his team returned from one game in Gilberton, the train's windows were shot out.
"You couldn't eat in the restaurants or stay in the hotels," Pollard told the New York Times in 1978.
"Hammond and Milwaukee were bad, but never as bad as Akron. They had some prejudiced people there. The opposing teams gave me hell too."
Teams would take kick-offs short, so that Pollard could be gang-tackled as soon as he received the ball. If the field was a quagmire, his face would be held in the water.
But he combated such treatment with tricks he learned from his brothers. When returning kick-offs, he often dived to the floor, leaving the tacklers to collide with each other, before getting back to his feet to continue running. When he was tackled, he'd flip on to his back and pedal his feet in the air to stop opponents piling on to him.
Pollard ended his playing career in 1926, aged 32. He continued to promote the integration of more black players. He coached and managed all-black teams in exhibition games, giving them a chance to showcase their talent.
By February 1933, there had been 13 black players in the NFL. Then a fateful meeting took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Fritz III says his grandfather felt there were two reasons why he wasn't voted into the Hall of Fame during his lifetime: George Halas and George Preston Marshall.
Halas was involved with the Chicago Bears from their creation in 1920 until his death in 1983, first as a player, then coach and team owner.
Marshall was an avowed segregationist who owned the Washington football franchise from its inception in 1932 to his death in 1969. He called the team Redskins in 1933, a racial slur that was only dropped in July this year amid mounting pressure. A memorial for Marshall outside Washington's stadium was removed in June, along with all other references to him, after it was spray-painted with the words "change the name".
Both he and Halas were at that meeting of team owners in 1933, when Marshall pitched the idea of banning black players. With the US in the depths of the Great Depression and millions of white people unemployed, he argued that paying black men to play football would be bad for business.
Pollard felt Halas held a personal grudge going back to when they were high school sports rivals in Chicago, and that he also played a prominent role in the ban being approved.
For decades the team owners claimed there was no unwritten agreement. The NFL has now acknowledged it did exist. external-link
It didn't end until the Los Angeles Rams signed Kenny Washington in 1946, and the NFL wasn't fully reintegrated until 1962. Marshall's Washington team was the last to sign a black player - after the government threatened to revoke the team's lease on their publicly funded stadium if they did not.
Pollard became the second African-American in the College Hall of Fame in 1954. But when the Pro Football Hall of Fame opened in 1963, he was not among the charter class of 17 inductees. Five of the 11 men who had agreed to ban black players were, however.
At that time Pollard was 69 and the owner of several business ventures. After his playing career, he'd moved to New York with the Harlem Renaissance still in full swing and had become a talent agent, booking black entertainers for films and white nightclubs. He opened the Sun Tan Studios, where the likes of Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole rehearsed, and produced music videos called 'soundies'.
Pollard pictured circa 1960. He became a successful businessman following his playing career
He founded a newspaper, and set up an investment fund and a company trading coal. He later worked as a tax and public relations consultant.
"If anybody had the right to be angry about the way he was treated it was my grandfather, but he never showed it," says Fritz III. "He always let his skills on the field, and his actions off it, define who he was. That's something that was drummed into me."
After Pollard, the second black starting quarterback was Marlin Briscoe in 1968. His case is typical of a process called 'racial stacking' which still influences the number of black head coaches we see today. There have been 24 in total, with three currently among the 32 teams, despite about 70% of NFL players being from ethnic minorities.
Briscoe passed for 14 touchdowns in 1968 - still a Denver Broncos record for a rookie. Yet the next summer Denver held quarterback meetings without him and he asked to be released. He never played quarterback again.
"African-Americans have historically been drummed out of the quarterback position and shifted into more 'athletic' positions like wide receiver, defensive back or running back," says Professor N Jeremi Duru of American University in Washington DC, one of the leading experts in US sports law and discrimination.
"Offensive co-ordinators tend to come from quarterbacks, and head coaches from offensive co-ordinators, so the pipeline is thin for African-Americans because of discrimination against black players in so-called 'thinking' positions."
When the Los Angeles Raiders hired Art Shell as head coach in 1989, he was asked in a live broadcast how it felt to be the NFL's first black coach.
"But I'm not," he said. "The first was Fritz Pollard."
Fritz III recalls: "You could see all the reporters going 'who's Fritz Pollard?' They had to cut to a commercial and then my phone just blew up with people saying 'they're talking about your grandfather'."
Pollard had died just three years before, at the age of 92, but so many people were only hearing his name for the first time. It was time for his family to take up the story.
Pollard's son Fritz Jr competed at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany, winning a bronze medal in the 110m hurdles before serving in the US army in World War II. His grandson, Fritz III, became a three-sport All-American at college.
As Fritz Jr handed down his collection of memorabilia in the 1990s, Fritz III began contacting each member of the Hall of Fame's 48-person selection committee, stating his grandfather's case for inclusion. They'd then verify the information.
Pollard, with cigar, pictured in 1950 with his son Fritz Jr
"They couldn't find anything so I said 'you're looking in the wrong papers'," says Fritz III. "After I told them about the historically black newspapers, a guy in Mississippi called back and said 'did you know your grandfather averaged hundreds of yards a game?' I said 'yeah, I know, that's what I've been telling you'."
Fritz III's daughter Meredith Kaye Russell, born in 1988, also joined the cause, helping with research and acting as her father's secretary.
"It was a literal fight," she says. "My dad was a single parent, and when he wasn't working all the hours he did it was phone call after phone call, meeting after meeting, trying to get my great-grandfather's name out there."
What also helped build momentum was an advocacy group formed in 2003 that champions diversity and the hiring of NFL coaches, scouts and front-office staff from minority backgrounds. Fritz III gave his permission to name it the Fritz Pollard Alliance (FPA).
The FPA negotiated with the NFL to establish a rule requiring teams to interview at least one ethnic minority candidate for each head coach vacancy. It was named the Rooney Rule after Dan Rooney, former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who at the time was chairman of the NFL's diversity committee.
Grandchildren Fritz III and Steven Towns pose with a bust of Pollard at his 2005 Hall of Fame induction
In 2020, there are three black coaches - the same as when the rule was instituted. For this reason the FPA has in recent years been vocal in flagging potential violations of the rule while seeking to enhance it. The rule now applies to general managers and co-ordinators too.
The FPA meets with the NFL formally twice a year to discuss proposals and collate a list of qualified minority candidates ready for interview.
"The league was challenged with a report showing that, essentially, African-Americans were the last hired and first fired," says Duru, who worked with the FPA from its inception.
"Now it's a healthy engagement, an exchange of ideas and not always agreement, but overall it's a working relationship with open lines of communication."
For Meredith, who teaches children aged three to eight, Pollard's legacy has a power stretching beyond family and football.
"My students know I get so mad at them if they call themselves 'stupid'. If they think they can't do something or belittle themselves. I will not have that," she says.
"This is a man who paved the way, who showed there is hope. Don't let anyone tell you 'no'. Keep working, keep going. It was really important to us as a family to get that known.
"Even if it helps just one person in the same situation as my great-grandfather, with the odds stacked against them, to persevere and make something of themselves, then it was worth it."


bbc--2020-10-02--What the data tells us about coronavirus in India

September was the nation 's worst month on record : on average 1,100 Indians died every day from the virus .
Regional anomalies continue as some states report far higher deaths than others - a sign , experts say , that the pandemic is still working its way through the country .
And it is no longer Mumbai , the crowded financial hub , that is worrying pandemic watchers .
Quiet , suburban Pune district has raced to second place with more than 5,800 deaths .
Five of the 10 districts with the highest Covid-19 fatalities - Mumbai and Pune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mumbai was the virus ' gateway to Maharashtra , said Dr Aurnab Ghose , who was part of a team which carried out a random antibody sampling of Pune residents .
The government survey found that , in some parts of the city , half the people had developed Covid-19 antibodies .
Dr Ghose said that while Mumbai was more self-contained , the greater movement between urban and rural parts of Pune district , as well between Pune and surrounding districts , had spread the virus further in these parts .
`` Punjab @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Dr Shamika Ravi , a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who is tracking the pandemic .
`` Its case fatality rate is not only the highest in the country but it 's also rising , '' she said .
That is alarming , Dr Ravi said , because it is contrary to what 's happening all over the world and in India as a whole - widespread testing and improved knowledge of treatment options is bringing down case fatality rates .
Dr Ravi said she believed Maharashtra and Punjab were both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited testing , leading to higher positive rates .
Lower testing could leader to a rise in death rates , she said , because authorities catch the infection only when it 's too late .
Punjab 's positive rate - at 6.2 % - is significantly lower than that of Maharashtra - 24 % .
But it 's also much higher than Bihar ( 2.5 % ) or Jharkhand ( 3.7 % ) - states that are doing about the same number of tests per million as Punjab - 60,000 .
And yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Not everyone is convinced of the correlation between the two .
`` I do n't know of any direct relationship , '' said Dr Gautam Menon , a professor and researcher on models of infectious diseases .
`` You 're not testing enough means you 're missing a ton of cases .
But what fraction of those cases lead to deaths is hard to say . ''
Dr Ghose said he thought there could be a more roundabout link - that lesser awareness and ability to get tested - which results in limited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitalisations , increasing the chances of death .
And yet Tamil Nadu is a state that has been consistently testing at high rates , and also has a low case fatality rate .
In absolute numbers , it has reported more than 9,000 deaths , the second-highest in the country , but daily deaths have been falling since July .
But Dr Jacob John , an epidemiologist , said that was because diagnosing the infection early was not always going to affect a patient 's treatment plan because in many cases , doctors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This is not surprising given that the virus thrives in dense populations where social distancing is nearly impossible .
And it also explains why most of the worst-hit districts are in richer states such as Maharashtra or Punjab .
These states are far more urbanised , and many of the districts outside of the big cities are still home to large , concentrated populations .

This is not surprising given that the virus thrives in dense populations where social distancing is nearly impossible. And it also explains why most of the worst-hit districts are in richer states such as Maharashtra or Punjab. These states are far more urbanised, and many of the districts outside of the big cities are still home to large, concentrated populations.


bbc--2020-10-01--Should you be buying a second-hand smartphone?

French entrepreneur , Thibaud Hug de Larauze , looks down at his laptop and taps a few keys .
`` So today we have 200,000-plus smartphones available to sell , '' he tells me .
None of those smartphones are new , instead they have been refurbished , a process involving checks , repairs and cleaning .
Once the phones meet the required standard they can then be sold with a one-year warranty on his company 's website , Back Market , which operates in European countries plus the US .
Based in France , Back Market sells electronics across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smartphones are the big sellers , his website lists everything from coffee makers , laptops , to irons .
Formed six years ago by Mr Hug de Larauze and two partners , Back Market does not refurbish the products itself , instead it provides a marketplace for hundreds of other firms to sell their used goods .
It is one of many firms riding the wave of growth in refurbished electronics .
Last year , around 137 million used smartphones were sold in the US and Europe , according to Counterpoint Research .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at research at Counterpoint , says that sales of used smartphones now account for about 10 % of all smartphone sales .
So what 's the attraction of owning a second-hand phone that 's a few years old ?
Why not buy a cheaper brand new device ?
It all hinges on the so-called flagship phones from Samsung , Huawei and , in particular , Apple .
Bought new these top of the range devices can be wildly expensive - Apple 's top end iPhones will set you back more than £1,000 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ will start appearing on second-hand marketplaces with perhaps a 15 % discount and after just two years the discount will be a healthy 50 % .
`` A flagship device from three , four years ago , from iPhone is still a better quality device , than something new in the $ 200 to $ 300 range , '' Mr Fieldhack says .
A decade ago , used phones would typically be sold on marketplaces like eBay .
It was hard for buyers to know the quality of the device they were buying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a warranty .
Now firms that sell refurbished electronics go to great lengths to reassure their buyers .
In fact those in the industry would draw clear a line between phones that have been used and those that have been professionally refurbished .
`` We want you to have exactly the same shopping experience that you would have in the Apple Store or PC World - ideally better , '' says Jeff Godfrey , the founder of Tech.Trade , based in South Wales .
His main product is refurbished computers .
`` If @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and want to send it back , yeah , send it back , '' he says .
The main problem he has is getting supplies of used computers .
Most of his used machines come from people who are trading in machines they do n't want anymore , but there 's not enough of them .
Mr Godfrey sold around 15,000 products last year , and could double that this year if he could get more products .
`` We 're just starting to get to the point where we 're dangerously low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That 's mainly due to the surge in demand from people working from home during the pandemic - in May Mr Godfrey saw sales surge 35 % , compared to the previous year .
The second big challenge is replacement parts .
Getting hold of screens and batteries can be difficult .
Despite the challenges , those in the industry are forecasting bumper times ahead .
Mr Hug de Larauze expects the sales of used smartphones to match sales of new devices by 2030 .
Analyst Jeff Fieldhack thinks that is a bit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have made big strides in improving quality and service , customers remain cautious , particularly in important markets like China , the Middle East and Eastern Europe .
`` There 's a lot of apprehension about the secondary market and in many markets the quality issue still needs to be overcome , '' he says .
Much also hinges on the popularity of Apple products which account for 40 % of sales of used smartphones .
Many customers would rather own a second-hand Apple phone or computer , than a new one from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is so dominant in the secondary market because they have such brand value and very expensive devices , '' says Mr Fieldhack .
`` These are $ 800-and-above devices that are sold in the US market for $ 200 .
That is a very attractive value proposition for consumers who are priced out of iPhones but want to get in that [ Apple ] ecosystem . ''
While the quality of Apple products makes them desirable in the used market , Apple and other smartphone makers have been criticised for making their devices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make some aspects of refurbishment incredibly challenging by design and by policy , '' says Mr Godfrey .
There are moves to remedy that situation .
In the US , The Repair Association is pushing for legislation that would force firms to release manuals and other information necessary to repair products .
And the European Union this year proposed an initiative to promote reusability and reparability .
All of that would make life easier for refurbishment firms .
In its defence Apple says that making devices more repairable sounds simple , but in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right and could result in less durable and bulkier devices .
To helper smaller repair firms , in July Apple launched a programme offering training and access to Apple parts .
The refurbishment industry also operates in the shadow of huge marketing campaigns from the smartphone industry .
Mr Hug de Larauze says massive advertising tells people everyday that what they have in their pocket is too old .
He wants consumers to resist those messages , not just because it would be good for his business , but because it benefits the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ need something new ?
No , I think not .
I think you should maybe consider repair and just keep as long as possible . ''

The main problem he has is getting supplies of used computers. Most of his used machines come from people who are trading in machines they don't want anymore, but there's not enough of them.


bbc--2020-10-02--Covid: God may punish Nepal for cancelling rites, religious leaders warn

Nepal 's decision to scale down festivals and centuries-old rituals due to coronavirus fears has invited a strong response from religious leaders .
Some have warned that divine anger could lead the country into catastrophe .
Temples are closed and mass gatherings are prohibited following a lockdown since March .
Officials say it is unlikely restrictions will be lifted ahead of the major festivals of Dashain and Tihar , which fall during the months of October and November respectively .
Nepal , with its unique juxtaposition of Hindu and Buddhist culture and lifestyle , has seen few festivities during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rituals including chariot processions involving large crowds to honour different deities , were either cancelled or reduced to small ceremonies .
Last month , clashes broke out in southern Kathmandu after angry protesters defied the government 's lockdown orders to attend Indra Jatra , a chariot procession in honour of the god of rain .
The ritual was conducted later - on a much smaller scale and with a police presence .
Kapil Bajracharya , the main priest leading the Rato Machhindranath Jatra ( a chariot procession in honour of the god of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ irresponsible of the government to curb religious activities .
`` My family has been conducting the ritual for centuries .
I feel very sad that in my tenure I was not allowed to carry out the chariot procession .
As far as I know , it has never been cancelled before . ''
The 72-year-old added : `` I believe that Nepal is a sacred home for gods .
If the gods are angry , we will land into more severe problems than coronavirus .
I have a serious objection against the Nepali @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bounds on the sinful as far as I am concerned . ''
Baburaja Jyapu , a 38-year-old businessman in Patan , also believes that the Nepali government 's decision is hurting people 's religious sentiments : `` I have a strong belief in religion and I think not getting engaged in religious activities can invite a bad omen .
`` In my view elderly people are more eager to visit religious places .
If the government continues restrictions , people will have mental health issues . ''
Many community and religious leaders , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be considered an exception and any religious and festive activities should take place only after safety has been assured .
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Gautam Shakya , a caretaker for Kathmandu 's living goddess Kumari , who lives in a special temple near the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abiding by safety protocols and it is unlikely that there will be a large-scale event this year .
`` We are yet to discuss with the government regarding the goddess 's presence at Taleju temple during the eighth day of the Dashain festival .
I think there will be no crowds this time like in the past .
But we can not take risks by taking her there . ''
`` Some people fear that bad things may happen if we do n't worship properly , '' he adds .
`` But in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We can organise festivals and rituals and preserve our culture for the future generation only if we survive . ''
Kumari , believed to be the reincarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga , is worshipped both by Hindus and Buddhists .
`` Since the lockdown , we have not let anyone visit her .
We are doing regular prayers and conducting the worship inside her residence by ourselves , '' Gautam said .
He said the living goddess was also using masks and sanitisers inside her residence , popularly known as Kumari @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joshi says people should follow science rather than just talk about festivals or rituals .
The 101-year-old cultural expert said : `` In the past , pandemics were viewed as a curse from the gods .
`` People in Kathmandu would gather in alleys to offer food and conduct prayers to seek forgiveness .
That 's an outdated idea now .
`` In the name of conducting festivals and organising feasts , we can not take risks that may cause the spread of coronavirus in Kathmandu .
`` That would shatter our economy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ourselves safe by following the guidance issued globally by the medical community . ''
Home ministry spokesman Chakra Bahadur Budha defended the government 's decision to restrict group worshipping , fairs and festivals .
`` We have asked people to maintain social distance and self-discipline , '' added the Nepali official .
Hari Shankar Prajapati , a shopkeeper in Kathmandu , agrees .
`` Any crowd could trigger a massive infection , '' he says .
`` For me health comes first .
We can not conduct our festivals or religious events if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But Padma Shrestha is furious .
`` The government has created terror and people are angry , '' he says .
`` Prohibiting centuries-old worshipping or rituals could make people lose their faith both towards religion and the government , '' he warns .
Occupying the middle ground , Bikes Karmacharya , a schoolteacher on the outskirts of Kathmandu , wants festivals to be held `` by following safety and social distancing measures '' .
`` Our failure to offer due respect to gods and goddesses may backfire .
We should agree that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' As of 30 September , there have been nearly 78,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 500 deaths due to coronavirus in Nepal .
Infections are on the rise in Kathmandu and there are fears that the disease could spread further as people travel home during the festivals .

"We are yet to discuss with the government regarding the goddess's presence at Taleju temple during the eighth day of the Dashain festival. I think there will be no crowds this time like in the past. But we cannot take risks by taking her there."


bbc--2020-10-01--Man Utd in tough Champions League group and Ronaldo v Messi - full draw

Last updated on .From the section European Football Manchester United will face Paris St-Germain , RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League group stage this season .
Manchester City are in Group D with Porto , Olympiakos and Marseille .
Elsewhere , Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to face each other after Juventus and Barcelona were drawn in Group G , while holders Bayern Munich will face Atletico Madrid in Group A .
The draw , which also saw Real Madrid and Inter Milan paired in Group B , took place without club officials present because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was a particularly tough draw for Manchester United , who will play last season 's beaten finalists PSG , as well as 2020 semi-finalists RB Leipzig .
This year 's group stage begins on Tuesday , 20 October with the final on Saturday , 29 May 2021 at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul .
Following Thursday 's draw it was announced fans could make a partial return to Uefa matches for the first time since March - where local laws permit .
Starting during the October international break , fans will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's capacity but away supporters will not be able to attend .
Social distancing will be mandatory and additional precautionary measures such as mask-wearing must be implemented in accordance with local rules .
Uefa 's decision comes after over 15,000 supporters attended a pilot in the Super Cup match between Bayern Munich and Sevilla in Budapest on 24 September .
In a statement , Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin , described the decision as `` a sensible first step which puts fans ' health first and respects the laws in each country '' .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ rivalries in world football for the past decade - and now Messi and Ronaldo will go head-to-head once more in the Champions League .
When Barcelona were drawn with Juventus in Group C , fans around the world immediately started looking forward to a meeting between the two .
The pair have won 11 of the past 12 Ballon d'Or awards , Messi winning a record six and Ronaldo five .
Of their 35 competitive meetings , Messi has been victorious 16 times to Ronaldo 's 10 with the remaining nine fixtures ending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , leads the way in Champions League successes , winning the trophy five times compared to Messi 's four .
If they were hoping for some escape from the pressure on them to make new signings when the Champions League draw was made , Manchester United did not get it .
Facing two of last season 's semi-finalists - and a long trip to Turkey - is not what they would have wanted from their Pot Two seeding .
It means Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 's men will be outsiders even to make it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to clutch at , it is the memory of their 3-1 win over PSG at the Parc de Princes two seasons ago which overturned a 2-0 defeat from the home leg .
It was one of the greatest nights in their illustrious European history .
England 's three other group-stage entrants will be reasonably satisfied .
Chelsea have been drawn with Europa League winners Sevilla , who accounted for United and Wolves on their run to the final in Cologne , where they beat Inter Milan , but Frank Lampard will fancy his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that contains French side Rennes and Russian newcomers Krasnodar .
So disappointed to exit at the quarter-final stage in August thanks to their shock defeat by Lyon , Manchester City drew possibly the easiest top seed , Porto , plus Olympiakos and Marseille , two sides they have never met before .
Liverpool , winners in 2019 and beaten finalists the year before , face another club with a magnificent European history , Ajax , who they have remarkably only played in one other tie , back in 1966 , when the Dutch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legs .
They have never played their other two opponents , Atalanta and Midtjylland , but it would be a major surprise if Jurgen Klopp 's team did not reach the last 16 .
• None Manchester United have progressed from the group stages in 82 % of their previous Champions League campaigns ( 18/22 ) , last failing to do so back in 2015-16 under Louis van Gaal .
• None Since Alex Ferguson retired , Manchester United 's best finishes in the Champions League have been two quarter-final appearances - in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2018-19 , under Ole Gunnar Solskjær .
• None Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has progressed past the Champions League group stages in six of his seven seasons managing in the competition , going on to reach the final three times - he lost with Borussia Dortmund in 2013 and Liverpool in 2018 , before winning it with the Reds in 2019 versus Spurs .
• None Liverpool have lost each of their last four away Champions League games at Italian clubs - two against Napoli ( 2018 and 2019 ) and once @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fiorentina ( 2009 ) .
• None Manchester City have won 13 of their last 18 Champions League matches ( D3 L2 ) , with their two defeats in this run coming at the quarter-final stage vs Spurs in 2018-19 and Lyon in 2019-20 .
• None In his first seven seasons as a manager in the Champions League as manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich , Pep Guardiola reached at least the semi-final of the competition in each campaign - in his four as Man City boss , Guardiola has not gone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chelsea have only lost one of their last 14 Champions League group stage games at Stamford Bridge ( W9 D4 ) - their lone defeat in this run is the only time in the previous 30 home group stage games they have failed to score in ( 0-1 v Valencia ) .
• None Sevilla will be fifth different Spanish side Chelsea have met in the Champions League , with the Blues unbeaten in the first meeting with each of previous four ( W3 D1 ) .

Manchester United knocked Paris St-Germain out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage in 2018-19
Manchester United will face Paris St-Germain, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League group stage this season.
Premier League champions Liverpool will have to negotiate a group containing Ajax, Atalanta and Danish side Midtjylland.
Chelsea will play Europa League winners Sevilla, Krasnodar and debutants Rennes.
Manchester City are in Group D with Porto, Olympiakos and Marseille.
Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are set to face each other after Juventus and Barcelona were drawn in Group G, while holders Bayern Munich will face Atletico Madrid in Group A.
The draw, which also saw Real Madrid and Inter Milan paired in Group B, took place without club officials present because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
And it was a particularly tough draw for Manchester United, who will play last season's beaten finalists PSG, as well as 2020 semi-finalists RB Leipzig.
This year's group stage begins on Tuesday, 20 October with the final on Saturday, 29 May 2021 at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.
Group-stage draw in full:
Group A: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow
Group B: Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Borussia Monchengladbach
Group C: Porto, Manchester City, Olympiakos, Marseille
Group D: Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, Midtjylland
Group E: Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Rennes
Group F: Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, FC Bruges
Group G: Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kyiv, Ferencvaros
Group H: Paris St-Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Basaksehir
Fans to return for big Champions League nights?
Following Thursday's draw it was announced fans could make a partial return to Uefa matches for the first time since March - where local laws permit.
Starting during the October international break, fans will be capped at 30% of a stadium's capacity but away supporters will not be able to attend.
Social distancing will be mandatory and additional precautionary measures such as mask-wearing must be implemented in accordance with local rules.
Uefa's decision comes after over 15,000 supporters attended a pilot in the Super Cup match between Bayern Munich and Sevilla in Budapest on 24 September.
In a statement, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin, described the decision as "a sensible first step which puts fans' health first and respects the laws in each country".
Messi v Ronaldo
It has been one of the greatest rivalries in world football for the past decade - and now Messi and Ronaldo will go head-to-head once more in the Champions League.
When Barcelona were drawn with Juventus in Group C, fans around the world immediately started looking forward to a meeting between the two.
The pair have won 11 of the past 12 Ballon d'Or awards, Messi winning a record six and Ronaldo five.
Of their 35 competitive meetings, Messi has been victorious 16 times to Ronaldo's 10 with the remaining nine fixtures ending in a draw.
Ronaldo, though, leads the way in Champions League successes, winning the trophy five times compared to Messi's four.
'United outsiders to progress' - analysis
Simon Stone, BBC Sport
If they were hoping for some escape from the pressure on them to make new signings when the Champions League draw was made, Manchester United did not get it.
Facing two of last season's semi-finalists - and a long trip to Turkey - is not what they would have wanted from their Pot Two seeding. It means Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men will be outsiders even to make it through.
If there is one straw to clutch at, it is the memory of their 3-1 win over PSG at the Parc de Princes two seasons ago which overturned a 2-0 defeat from the home leg. It was one of the greatest nights in their illustrious European history.
England's three other group-stage entrants will be reasonably satisfied.
Chelsea have been drawn with Europa League winners Sevilla, who accounted for United and Wolves on their run to the final in Cologne, where they beat Inter Milan, but Frank Lampard will fancy his side to get out of a group that contains French side Rennes and Russian newcomers Krasnodar.
So disappointed to exit at the quarter-final stage in August thanks to their shock defeat by Lyon, Manchester City drew possibly the easiest top seed, Porto, plus Olympiakos and Marseille, two sides they have never met before.
Liverpool, winners in 2019 and beaten finalists the year before, face another club with a magnificent European history, Ajax, who they have remarkably only played in one other tie, back in 1966, when the Dutch side came out on top over two legs.
They have never played their other two opponents, Atalanta and Midtjylland, but it would be a major surprise if Jurgen Klopp's team did not reach the last 16.
Champions League stats


bbc--2020-10-01--Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to reach quarter-finals

Last updated on .From the section League Cup Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes his side took a `` step forward '' by beating Liverpool on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup .
Arsenal lost 3-1 in the Premier League at the Reds four days ago , and Arteta was pleased with his side 's response .
`` We still have lots to learn but we are on the right path , '' the Spaniard said .
`` It is the third time in about eight weeks we have played against the best team in Europe , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ step forward for my team .
`` We want to treat every competition as an opportunity to win a trophy , we have to do that for the club we represent and we will do that . ''
The teams produced a 5-5 thriller at Anfield in the competition last season before a penalty shootout , won by Liverpool , but this was a considerably less exciting match .
Both sides struggled for fluency after making numerous changes from their Premier League meeting on Monday .
But after Divock Origi and Harry Wilson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ converted the decisive penalty .
Arsenal will now host Manchester City in the last eight , with all ties to be played in the week commencing 21 December .
Mohamed Elneny 's miss in the shootout looked like it was going to be costly for the Gunners , but German goalkeeper Leno salvaged the situation for Arteta 's side .
Leno 's excellence was a theme of the match , particularly once Liverpool - who had made nine changes from their win on Monday - got to grips with the game towards the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former Bayer Leverkusen keeper brilliantly parried new signing Diogo Jota 's header and deserved some fortune when Takumi Minamino hit the crossbar with the follow up when he ought to have scored .
Arsenal were organised and disciplined in defence and despite Mohamed Salah joining Minamino and Jota in an experienced frontline for Jurgen Klopp 's side , they could not find the breakthrough .
Liverpool were made to work hard for openings , and when they did create chances , Leno thwarted them as he produced superb saves to deny both Jota @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The 28-year-old became the first Arsenal goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at Anfield since Vito Mannone in September 2012 . '
I really have belief in Bernd ' - what they said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp , speaking to Sky Sports : `` If there would have been a winner in 90 minutes it should have been us but we are not in dreamland , you have to score .
I liked a lot of parts of the game , we mixed it up a lot and I saw a proper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like on the pitch when you wear this wonderful shirt .
A penalty shoot out is tricky , everyone knows .
That is it . ''
What did the performance lack ?
`` Goals .
So many things are different when you mix it up in decisive positions especially .
I really liked how the boys did it , there were a lot of good individual performances , it could have been a Premier League game but here or there we lacked the last pass .
There were not a lot of chances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of work from both teams closing each other down .
On Xherdan Shaqiri 's absence from the squad : `` Some were not involved .
It is the time of the year when some things happen in the background and you have to react - that is what we did . ''
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta , speaking to Sky Sports : `` I am really happy with the performance .
I think the boys were exceptional .
We corrected a few things from Monday and it was superb .
`` We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aggression we had , the way we pressed them really high was exceptional .
Bernd Leno was really good .
When we needed him we had him .
You need a top individual performance to win at Anfield and that is what we had tonight .
`` I really have belief in Bernd .
I know him really well and what he can give us .
We did n't want Emiliano Martínez to go but it was probably the right thing for both parties to do .
The gap towards Liverpool is still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ try and reach their level . ''
On drawing his former club Manchester City : `` I was waiting and enjoying the victory and then we have to play Manchester City .
It is what it is , there are a lot of tough teams left in the competition and we will prepare for it . ''
Liverpool are next in action when they travel to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday , 4 October ( 19:15 BST ) .
Arsenal host Sheffield United in the Premier League on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ None How Do You Cope ?
: Fabrice Muamba on the night that changed his life • None All the reaction from some heavyweight EFL Cup ties

Last updated on .From the section League Cup
The impressive Bernd Leno saved Harry Wilson's penalty to set up the opportunity for Joe Willock to win the tie
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes his side took a "step forward" by beating Liverpool on penalties to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
After a goalless 90 minutes at Anfield, Gunners goalkeeper Bernd Leno saved two penalties in the shootout before Joe Willock scored the winning spot-kick.
Arsenal lost 3-1 in the Premier League at the Reds four days ago, and Arteta was pleased with his side's response.
"We still have lots to learn but we are on the right path," the Spaniard said.
"It is the third time in about eight weeks we have played against the best team in Europe, in my opinion, and it is a step forward for my team.
"We want to treat every competition as an opportunity to win a trophy, we have to do that for the club we represent and we will do that."
The teams produced a 5-5 thriller at Anfield in the competition last season before a penalty shootout, won by Liverpool, but this was a considerably less exciting match.
Both sides struggled for fluency after making numerous changes from their Premier League meeting on Monday.
But after Divock Origi and Harry Wilson saw efforts saved by Leno, Willock converted the decisive penalty.
Arsenal will now host Manchester City in the last eight, with all ties to be played in the week commencing 21 December.
Leno to Arsenal's rescue
Mohamed Elneny's miss in the shootout looked like it was going to be costly for the Gunners, but German goalkeeper Leno salvaged the situation for Arteta's side.
Leno's excellence was a theme of the match, particularly once Liverpool - who had made nine changes from their win on Monday - got to grips with the game towards the end of the first period.
The former Bayer Leverkusen keeper brilliantly parried new signing Diogo Jota's header and deserved some fortune when Takumi Minamino hit the crossbar with the follow up when he ought to have scored.
Arsenal were organised and disciplined in defence and despite Mohamed Salah joining Minamino and Jota in an experienced frontline for Jurgen Klopp's side, they could not find the breakthrough.
Liverpool were made to work hard for openings, and when they did create chances, Leno thwarted them as he produced superb saves to deny both Jota and Virgil van Dijk after the break.
The 28-year-old became the first Arsenal goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet at Anfield since Vito Mannone in September 2012.
'I really have belief in Bernd' - what they said
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, speaking to Sky Sports: "If there would have been a winner in 90 minutes it should have been us but we are not in dreamland, you have to score. I liked a lot of parts of the game, we mixed it up a lot and I saw a proper performance, a lot of things we like on the pitch when you wear this wonderful shirt. A penalty shoot out is tricky, everyone knows. That is it."
What did the performance lack? "Goals. So many things are different when you mix it up in decisive positions especially. I really liked how the boys did it, there were a lot of good individual performances, it could have been a Premier League game but here or there we lacked the last pass. There were not a lot of chances in this game because there was a lot of work from both teams closing each other down.
On Xherdan Shaqiri's absence from the squad: "Some were not involved. It is the time of the year when some things happen in the background and you have to react - that is what we did."
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, speaking to Sky Sports: "I am really happy with the performance. I think the boys were exceptional. We corrected a few things from Monday and it was superb.
"We competed much better, the level of aggression we had, the way we pressed them really high was exceptional. Bernd Leno was really good. When we needed him we had him. You need a top individual performance to win at Anfield and that is what we had tonight.
"I really have belief in Bernd. I know him really well and what he can give us. We didn't want Emiliano Martínez to go but it was probably the right thing for both parties to do. The gap towards Liverpool is still big. We will keep improving to try and reach their level."
On drawing his former club Manchester City: "I was waiting and enjoying the victory and then we have to play Manchester City. It is what it is, there are a lot of tough teams left in the competition and we will prepare for it."
What's next?
Liverpool are next in action when they travel to face Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday, 4 October (19:15 BST). Arsenal host Sheffield United in the Premier League on the same day at 14:00 BST.


bbc--2020-10-01--French Open 2020: Novak Djokovic reaches third round with ruthless win

Last updated on .From the section Tennis Novak Djokovic continued his dominant start to the French Open with a ruthless straight-set win against Lithuanian world number 66 Ricardas Berankis in the second round .
Djokovic , 33 , is one of the favourites to win the tournament and put together an almost flawless performance to triumph in one hour and 23 minutes .
`` I hope I can carry on like this . ''
The top seed has tough competition for the title in Spain 's 12-time champion Rafael Nadal and Austria 's two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem but he looked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Roland Garros clay .
After dropping just five games in his first-round win against Sweden 's Mikael Ymer , the Serb continued his bid for an 18th Grand Slam title in equally brutal fashion .
Djokovic broke Berankis 's serve in the first game of the match and went on to win the first set in 22 minutes , with the Lithuanian 30-year-old winning just 10 points .
A further two breaks helped Djokovic take the second set and his level continued to rise even higher as Berankis struggled with a back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ number one served 10 aces , hit 25 winners and won 95 % of points on his first serve to claim an easy victory .
`` Right from the blocks I want to bring in the intensity , '' he told Eurosport .
`` I managed to do that in the past two matches .
It 's exactly how I want to roll into the match . ''
Djokovic will face either Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan , who beat American world number 47 Tennys Sandgren , next .
Unbeaten on the court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2020 came when he was defaulted from his US Open last-16 match against Spain 's Pablo Carreno Busta after hitting a line judge with a ball .
The 27-year-old Spaniard , who has never reached the third round before , beat his higher-ranked opponent 7-5 6-7 ( 5-7 ) 6-3 3-6 8-6 and now faces Bulgarian 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov .
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas had an equally easy time later on Philippe Chatrier , beating Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-1 6-4 6-2 .
Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini is also through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Lloyd Harris , as is Russian 15th seed Karen Khachanov after beating Jiri Vesely 6-1 6-7 ( 4-7 ) 7-6 ( 9-7 ) 7-6 ( 7-2 ) .
• None Alerts : Get tennis news sent to your phone

Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Novak Djokovic has won the French Open once, in 2016
Novak Djokovic continued his dominant start to the French Open with a ruthless straight-set win against Lithuanian world number 66 Ricardas Berankis in the second round.
The world number one won 6-1 6-2 6-2, meaning he has lost just 10 games in his first two matches.
Djokovic, 33, is one of the favourites to win the tournament and put together an almost flawless performance to triumph in one hour and 23 minutes.
"I felt really good," Djokovic said.
"I hope I can carry on like this."
The top seed has tough competition for the title in Spain's 12-time champion Rafael Nadal and Austria's two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem but he looked focused and in control against Berankis on the Roland Garros clay.
After dropping just five games in his first-round win against Sweden's Mikael Ymer, the Serb continued his bid for an 18th Grand Slam title in equally brutal fashion.
Djokovic broke Berankis's serve in the first game of the match and went on to win the first set in 22 minutes, with the Lithuanian 30-year-old winning just 10 points.
A further two breaks helped Djokovic take the second set and his level continued to rise even higher as Berankis struggled with a back injury.
In total, the world number one served 10 aces, hit 25 winners and won 95% of points on his first serve to claim an easy victory.
"Right from the blocks I want to bring in the intensity," he told Eurosport.
"I managed to do that in the past two matches. It's exactly how I want to roll into the match."
Djokovic will face either Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan, who beat American world number 47 Tennys Sandgren, next.
Unbeaten on the court this year, Djokovic's only defeat in 2020 came when he was defaulted from his US Open last-16 match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta after hitting a line judge with a ball.
Shock for ninth seed Shapovalov
On Court Suzanne Lenglen, Canadian ninth seed Denis Shapovalov lost a five-hour five-set battle against world number 101 Roberto Carballes Baena.
The 27-year-old Spaniard, who has never reached the third round before, beat his higher-ranked opponent 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 3-6 8-6 and now faces Bulgarian 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Dimitrov made light work of Slovakian world number 102 Andrej Martin in a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 win.
Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas had an equally easy time later on Philippe Chatrier, beating Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas 6-1 6-4 6-2.
Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini is also through following a 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-3 win against Lloyd Harris, as is Russian 15th seed Karen Khachanov after beating Jiri Vesely 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-2).


bbc--2020-10-01--Teenager Fati scores again in Barcelona win at Celta

Last updated on .From the section European Football Ansu Fati became only the second 17-year-old to reach 10 La Liga @ @ @ @ @ beat Celta Vigo .
Ronald Koeman 's Barca went down to 10 men in the @ @ @ @ @ was sent off for two bookings .
Lionel Messi 's cross was then diverted into @ @ @ @ @ Olaza and Sergi Roberto smashed in a late third .
Celta went close to pulling @ @ @ @ @ Miguel Baeza 's deflected shot hit the crossbar .
Bojan is the only other player @ @ @ @ @ league goals for Barca before his 18th birthday .
Spain international Fati 's 10 goals @ @ @ @ @ games .
Messi took 30 matches to reach that figure .
Fati has scored three @ @ @ @ @ goals this season , having netted twice in the 4-0 opening-day win over Villarreal .
@ @ @ @ @ own goals , with Messi and Roberto their other scorers .

Last updated on .From the section European Football
Ansu Fati has scored three of Barcelona's five La Liga goals in the opening two games
Ansu Fati became only the second 17-year-old to reach 10 La Liga goals for Barcelona as they beat Celta Vigo.
Fati opened the scoring with a clever first touch and finish after being picked out by Philippe Coutinho, his third goal in two games this season.
Ronald Koeman's Barca went down to 10 men in the first half when Clement Lenglet was sent off for two bookings.
Lionel Messi's cross was then diverted into his own net by Lucas Olaza and Sergi Roberto smashed in a late third.
Celta went close to pulling one back at 2-0 but Miguel Baeza's deflected shot hit the crossbar.
Bojan is the only other player to reach double figures in league goals for Barca before his 18th birthday. Spain international Fati's 10 goals have come in 26 league games. Messi took 30 matches to reach that figure.
Fati has scored three of Barca's seven league goals this season, having netted twice in the 4-0 opening-day win over Villarreal. They have benefited from two own goals, with Messi and Roberto their other scorers.


bbc--2020-10-01--Kane hat-trick as Spurs score seven to reach Europa League group stage

Last updated on .From the section Europa League Harry Kane scored a hat-trick and Dele Alli also found the target to help Tottenham reach the group stage of the Europa League courtesy of a hugely entertaining victory over Israeli side Maccabi Haifa .
Instead , a frantic first half yielded five goals , four of which went to the home side .
Harry Kane slotted in the opener from close range before former QPR forward Tjaronn Chery curled in a superb equaliser for the visitors .
This only served to provoke further attacking brilliance from the home side , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ball in off his back from a corner , and then claimed total control courtesy of two Giovani lo Celso finishes , assisted by the lively Steven Bergwijn and crafty Kane .
The Argentine made way to allow Alli to play the second half , which was somewhat overshadowed by two penalties awarded via controversial handballs .
Spurs Matt Doherty and Maccabi 's Ernest Mabouka both had their arms by their side to block crosses but each were penalised , leading to Nikita Rukavytsya narrowing the three-goal margin before Kane restored it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ superb night with a neat chipped finish following a Bergwijn pass , before Alli won a penalty with sharp turn to draw a foul that he himself converted .
The draw for the group stage will take place on Friday .
• None Europa League draw : All you need to know The night could not have gone much better for Jose Mourinho and his side .
They did not have it all their own way against a Maccabi side who pressed with gusto early on and kept the home side on their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his brilliant equaliser .
But through Kane 's goals , Moura 's and Bergwijn 's movement and Lo Celso 's ruthless influence between them , the Portuguese 's squad is finally punching its weight .
Most encouraging , though , is the contribution of Alli , who was hauled off at half-time in their opening league game of the season and has barely had a look-in since amid suggestions Mourinho was looking to offload him .
The Spurs boss has never wavered in his stance that Alli has an important role still to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work hard and take on advice to earn his way back in .
It appears to have worked with Alli producing a 45 minutes full of graft , sprinkled with guile and topped off with his confident nutmeg to win the final penalty , and coolness to finish it .
'It is not human' Having played three games in five days , Spurs boss Mourinho reserved special praise for those in his squad who have started two of those consecutively .
`` What Eric Dier , Bergwijn and Toby [ Alderweireld ] did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` It 's proven , scientifically proven , every sport scientist person knows that what they did should n't be done .
`` To play 180 minutes in three days should n't be allowed .
These three guys did it .
I know that some others played also until their limit , but we managed because we have a good squad and we have a squad with different options .
`` We managed to share players in these matches and we managed to go through two knockout competitions in the Carabao and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gone out .
Job done .
I am really happy for the job done . ''
• None How Do You Cope ?
: Fabrice Muamba on the night that changed his life • None All the reaction from some heavyweight EFL Cup ties

Last updated on .From the section Europa League
Lo Celso has yet to score a league goal for Spurs but now has four to his name in cup competitions
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick and Dele Alli also found the target to help Tottenham reach the group stage of the Europa League courtesy of a hugely entertaining victory over Israeli side Maccabi Haifa.
With this their seventh game in 19 gruelling days at the start of the season, you would have forgiven Spurs for easing into the encounter.
Instead, a frantic first half yielded five goals, four of which went to the home side.
Harry Kane slotted in the opener from close range before former QPR forward Tjaronn Chery curled in a superb equaliser for the visitors.
This only served to provoke further attacking brilliance from the home side, who restored their lead when Lucas Moura flicked the ball in off his back from a corner, and then claimed total control courtesy of two Giovani lo Celso finishes, assisted by the lively Steven Bergwijn and crafty Kane.
The Argentine made way to allow Alli to play the second half, which was somewhat overshadowed by two penalties awarded via controversial handballs.
Spurs Matt Doherty and Maccabi's Ernest Mabouka both had their arms by their side to block crosses but each were penalised, leading to Nikita Rukavytsya narrowing the three-goal margin before Kane restored it.
The England captain then completed a superb night with a neat chipped finish following a Bergwijn pass, before Alli won a penalty with sharp turn to draw a foul that he himself converted.
The draw for the group stage will take place on Friday.
Alli caps a brilliant night for Spurs
The night could not have gone much better for Jose Mourinho and his side.
They did not have it all their own way against a Maccabi side who pressed with gusto early on and kept the home side on their toes, not least when Chery scored his brilliant equaliser.
But through Kane's goals, Moura's and Bergwijn's movement and Lo Celso's ruthless influence between them, the Portuguese's squad is finally punching its weight.
Most encouraging, though, is the contribution of Alli, who was hauled off at half-time in their opening league game of the season and has barely had a look-in since amid suggestions Mourinho was looking to offload him.
The Spurs boss has never wavered in his stance that Alli has an important role still to play and that the midfielder need only work hard and take on advice to earn his way back in.
It appears to have worked with Alli producing a 45 minutes full of graft, sprinkled with guile and topped off with his confident nutmeg to win the final penalty, and coolness to finish it.
Man of the match - Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Three goals and an assist, of course Harry Kane is the man of the match
'It is not human'
Having played three games in five days, Spurs boss Mourinho reserved special praise for those in his squad who have started two of those consecutively.
"What Eric Dier, Bergwijn and Toby [Alderweireld] did is not human," he said.
"It's proven, scientifically proven, every sport scientist person knows that what they did shouldn't be done.
"To play 180 minutes in three days shouldn't be allowed. These three guys did it. I know that some others played also until their limit, but we managed because we have a good squad and we have a squad with different options.
"We managed to share players in these matches and we managed to go through two knockout competitions in the Carabao and Europa League, but we could have gone out. Job done. I am really happy for the job done."


bbc--2020-10-01--NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers beat Miami Heat 116-98 in game one

Last updated on .From the section Basketball LeBron James says the Los Angeles Lakers still have `` a lot more work to do '' after they comfortably beat the injury-hit Miami Heat 116-98 in game one of the NBA Finals .
Jimmy Butler had 23 points for the Heat , who lost point guard Goran Dragic and forward Bam Adebayo to injury .
James said : `` The job is not done .
We 're not satisfied winning one game . ''
Speaking after Thursday 's game , he added : `` You have to get a feel for how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense for that .
We got more work to do .
It 's that simple . ''
The Lakers went into the series as overwhelming favourites to land a record-equalling 17th NBA Championship title , 10 years after their last finals appearance .
However , it was the Heat who began the game on top , racing into a 13-point lead in the first quarter .
That advantage would not last long , though , as the Lakers scored 11 three-pointers to complete a 30-point turnaround by the end of the first half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
`` They 're a great team .
They 're here for a reason , '' said Lakers forward Davis .
`` They came out very hot , we came out slow .
`` We ca n't come out like that in game two .
`` If we want to win this series and become champions we 've got to come out better from the start . ''
Miami 's evening was made worse by Dragic and Adebayo both being forced out of the game .
Dragic , Miami 's leading scorer in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the second quarter , while Adebayo left with a shoulder strain in the third .
Butler was also forced to leave the court with a sprained ankle , but was able to return in the fourth quarter .
`` I 'll be OK .
Some treatment and I get ready to go again .
I 've got to be ready to go , '' he said .
Game two of the best-of-seven series is on Friday ( 02:00 BST on Saturday ) .
Passion and protest in the Orlando bubble Since resuming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ played inside the 'NBA Bubble ' at Disney World Resort in Orlando , Florida .
Coronavirus restrictions mean no fans are allowed , leading to an eerie atmosphere at what should be one of the United States ' greatest sporting occasions .
Though the stands were empty , a virtual crowd was projected on to a big screen courtside , including some well-known faces , such as former US president Barack Obama and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal .
Former Los Angeles forward Pau Gasol was also among the virtual fans and wearing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shirt made famous by the legendary Kobe Byrant , who died in a helicopter crash earlier this year .
The ongoing social and political tensions have been recognised throughout , particularly the Black Lives Matter movement .
Both sets of players and staff took the knee before the start of Wednesdays 's game and , with the US presidential election looming , wore T-shirts with the word `` vote '' on the front during the warm-up .
• None How Do You Cope ?
: Fabrice Muamba on the night that changed his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some heavyweight EFL Cup ties

Last updated on .From the section Basketball
LeBron James says the Los Angeles Lakers still have "a lot more work to do" after they comfortably beat the injury-hit Miami Heat 116-98 in game one of the NBA Finals.
Anthony Davis scored 34 points for the Lakers, with James adding 25 points and nine assists.
Jimmy Butler had 23 points for the Heat, who lost point guard Goran Dragic and forward Bam Adebayo to injury.
James said: "The job is not done. We're not satisfied winning one game."
Speaking after Thursday's game, he added: "You have to get a feel for how hard Miami plays. We got a sense for that. We got more work to do. It's that simple."
The Lakers went into the series as overwhelming favourites to land a record-equalling 17th NBA Championship title, 10 years after their last finals appearance.
However, it was the Heat who began the game on top, racing into a 13-point lead in the first quarter.
That advantage would not last long, though, as the Lakers scored 11 three-pointers to complete a 30-point turnaround by the end of the first half - before surging clear in the second.
"They're a great team. They're here for a reason," said Lakers forward Davis. "They came out very hot, we came out slow.
"We can't come out like that in game two.
"If we want to win this series and become champions we've got to come out better from the start."
Miami's evening was made worse by Dragic and Adebayo both being forced out of the game.
Dragic, Miami's leading scorer in the post-season, suffered a foot injury in the second quarter, while Adebayo left with a shoulder strain in the third.
Butler was also forced to leave the court with a sprained ankle, but was able to return in the fourth quarter.
"I'll be OK. Some treatment and I get ready to go again. I've got to be ready to go," he said.
Game two of the best-of-seven series is on Friday (02:00 BST on Saturday).
Passion and protest in the Orlando bubble
Both sets of players and staff took the knee during the national anthem
Since resuming in July, the season is being played inside the 'NBA Bubble' at Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Coronavirus restrictions mean no fans are allowed, leading to an eerie atmosphere at what should be one of the United States' greatest sporting occasions.
Though the stands were empty, a virtual crowd was projected on to a big screen courtside, including some well-known faces, such as former US president Barack Obama and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal.
Former Los Angeles forward Pau Gasol was also among the virtual fans and wearing a Lakers number eight jersey, the now-retired shirt made famous by the legendary Kobe Byrant, who died in a helicopter crash earlier this year.
Barack Obama (centre) and Shaquille O'Neal (left) appeared as 'virtual' fans courtside
The ongoing social and political tensions have been recognised throughout, particularly the Black Lives Matter movement.
Both sets of players and staff took the knee before the start of Wednesdays's game and, with the US presidential election looming, wore T-shirts with the word "vote" on the front during the warm-up.
Players from both teams wore T-shirts with "vote" on the front during the warm-up


bbc--2020-10-01--Calvert-Lewin, Saka and Barnes in England squad

Last updated on .From the section England Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in his first England squad after being selected for this month 's matches against Wales , Belgium and Denmark .
Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden , who were sent home from Iceland last month after breaching coronavirus quarantine guidelines , have been left out .
But Harry Maguire , who was withdrawn from that squad while he faced a court case in Greece , is in the 30-man squad .
Manchester United captain Maguire , 27 , was given a suspended prison sentence on the Greek island of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assault , resisting arrest and repeated attempts of bribery .
The centre-back maintains his innocence and has appealed against the decision , which nullifies the conviction .
England play Wales in a friendly on 8 October , before Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Denmark on 11 and 14 October respectively , with all three games being played at Wembley Stadium .
Calvert-Lewin is awarded his first call-up by Gareth Southgate after scoring eight goals in five appearances in all competitions so far this season , including two hat-tricks .
`` I 'm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ get this first England call , '' said the 23-year-old .
`` I phoned my mum and my dad , and my mum burst into tears .
`` It 's something we 've spoken about since I was a young boy .
To get here now and get the call-up is a dream come true .
I 'm very happy . ''
Southgate said : `` Dominic is a player whose all-round game we have liked for some time .
What he 's added over the last 18 months is goals and for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He 's in a rich vein of form .
He thoroughly deserves his opportunity . ''
Gunners left-back Saka , 19 , only made his England Under-21s debut last month but Southgate said he had been `` impressed '' with his progress through the Three Lions ' youth system .
`` At times for Arsenal he has been very exciting , '' Southgate said .
`` He is improving all the time - really high potential , really high quality .
`` Everyone tells me he is intelligent and a really level-headed boy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pitch we are keen to look at a different profile of player and he can play a number of roles comfortably . ''
On 22-year-old Leicester midfielder Barnes , Southgate said : `` Harvey has had a good couple of years .
`` He is a different sort of attacking wide player , very direct .
He was very impressive counter-attacking against Manchester City the other day .
That has been a consistency for a period of time . ''
Foden and Greenwood need 'period of reflection' Manchester City midfielder Foden and Manchester @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mixing outside the enforced `` bubble '' around Southgate 's squad after making their senior debuts against Iceland earlier on the same day .
At the time , Southgate said the pair had been `` naive '' and both later apologised for their actions .
They have been omitted from Southgate 's selection for the October camp but the manager says they have now `` suffered enough '' .
`` We have to send a message to all our players at every age level that that sort of thing is n't how we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
`` Then we 've got to rehabilitate these two boys .
Young people will make mistakes .
These lads have suffered enough now .
`` I think they need this period of reflection but that gives them the opportunity to get back on their feet with their clubs , enjoy their football again .
`` I can speak to them after this camp and it will be just be about their form then . ''

Last updated on .From the section England
In form Calvert-Lewin among trio of new England call-ups
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in his first England squad after being selected for this month's matches against Wales, Belgium and Denmark.
Leicester's Harvey Barnes and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka also get first call-ups.
Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden, who were sent home from Iceland last month after breaching coronavirus quarantine guidelines, have been left out.
But Harry Maguire, who was withdrawn from that squad while he faced a court case in Greece, is in the 30-man squad.
Manchester United captain Maguire, 27, was given a suspended prison sentence on the Greek island of Syros after being found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and repeated attempts of bribery.
The centre-back maintains his innocence and has appealed against the decision, which nullifies the conviction.
England play Wales in a friendly on 8 October, before Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Denmark on 11 and 14 October respectively, with all three games being played at Wembley Stadium.
Calvert-Lewin is awarded his first call-up by Gareth Southgate after scoring eight goals in five appearances in all competitions so far this season, including two hat-tricks.
"I'm a very, very proud man to get this first England call," said the 23-year-old.
"I phoned my mum and my dad, and my mum burst into tears.
"It's something we've spoken about since I was a young boy. To get here now and get the call-up is a dream come true. I'm very happy."
Southgate said: "Dominic is a player whose all-round game we have liked for some time. What he's added over the last 18 months is goals and for a striker that's critical.
"He's in a rich vein of form. He thoroughly deserves his opportunity."
Gunners left-back Saka, 19, only made his England Under-21s debut last month but Southgate said he had been "impressed" with his progress through the Three Lions' youth system.
"At times for Arsenal he has been very exciting," Southgate said. "He is improving all the time - really high potential, really high quality.
"Everyone tells me he is intelligent and a really level-headed boy. It is an area of the pitch we are keen to look at a different profile of player and he can play a number of roles comfortably."
On 22-year-old Leicester midfielder Barnes, Southgate said: "Harvey has had a good couple of years.
"He is a different sort of attacking wide player, very direct. He was very impressive counter-attacking against Manchester City the other day. That has been a consistency for a period of time."
Foden and Greenwood need 'period of reflection'
Manchester City midfielder Foden and Manchester United forward Greenwood were sent home for mixing outside the enforced "bubble" around Southgate's squad after making their senior debuts against Iceland earlier on the same day.
At the time, Southgate said the pair had been "naive" and both later apologised for their actions.
They have been omitted from Southgate's selection for the October camp but the manager says they have now "suffered enough".
"We have to send a message to all our players at every age level that that sort of thing isn't how we do things with England," he said.
"Then we've got to rehabilitate these two boys. Young people will make mistakes. These lads have suffered enough now.
"I think they need this period of reflection but that gives them the opportunity to get back on their feet with their clubs, enjoy their football again.
"I can speak to them after this camp and it will be just be about their form then."
Full England squad
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley), Dean Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Harry Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Harvey Barnes (Leicester), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Danny Ings (Southampton), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)