EPL players, staff all testing negative

The Premier League’s planned restart on June 17 received a further boost on Saturday when the latest batch of novel coronavirus tests produced no positive results.

The tests were carried out on Thursday and Friday.

“The Premier League can today confirm that on Thursday 28 May and Friday 29 May,

1,130 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, zero have tested positive,” the league said in a statement.

In the three previous rounds of testing since players resumed training there were 12 positives.

No Premier League matches have been played since March, but the league said on Thursday that the season will restart on June 17 provided all safety requirements have been met.

Earlier on Saturday, the government gave the green light for the resumption of elite sport in England from Monday, provided that strict safety guidelines outlined in its Stage Three protocol were adhered to.

The Premier League’s

Chief Executive Richard Masters said he welcomed the government’s announcement but said there was still work to be done to “ensure the safety of everyone involved”.

“All major sports, including the Premier League, have been working together with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to produce this Stage Three protocol,” he said.

“We could not have reached this point without the full support of the Government, especially DCMS, Public Health England and the Chief Medical Officer’s team.

“If all goes well, we will be thrilled to resume the 2019/20 season in just over two weeks’ time.”

There are 92 fixtures remaining, all of which will be played without fans.

Ten individuals from eight Championship clubs tested positive for novel coronavirus in the latest round of tests, the English Football League (EFL) confirmed on Saturday.

In a statement the EFL said 1,058 players and staff from England’s 24 second-tier clubs had been tested for the virus on Thursday and Friday.

“Those players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate in line with the guidelines provided by the EFL and only those who have tested negative will be permitted to enter training ground facilities,” a statement read.

The EFL did not identify the individuals although Preston North End confirmed that striker Jayden Stockley had tested positive and was asymptomatic.

As well as the 10 positive tests from Championship clubs, seven positive tests were recorded from fourth-tier League Two clubs.

Ukraine’s top professional soccer league said on Saturday it had cancelled one of its first post-lockdown matches after several players and staff at Karpaty in the western city of Lviv tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The match between Karpaty and Mariupol from the Azov Sea port of Mariupol was supposed to be played on Sunday behind closed doors.

The football authorities did not specify how many players had been affected by the virus and when a rescheduled match may be played.

“Those infected were immediately transferred to self-isolation. They had no symptoms,” the league said in a statement.

Ukraine’s government has started easing restrictions imposed in March to prevent the spread of the virus and allowed sports events to continue if all participants are tested and comply with other safety requirements.

The soccer authorities decided to resume competitions in the Premier League and the Cup with no spectators. Two of Ukraine’s most famous clubs, Dynamo Kiev and Shakhtar Donetsk, are scheduled to meet on Sunday.