La Liga set to resume in June

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi’s Barcelona and the rest of the Spanish league can resume play in June after three months of waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to subside.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Saturday that the nation’s wildly popular La Liga and other professional sports competitions will be allowed to resume from June 8, providing Spain keeps its coronavirus outbreak in check.

While the top tier can play from this date, which is a Monday, it has already said it wants to restart on June 12, a Friday.

It is unclear when the first games will be held.

“Of course, play will resume under conditions that guarantee the maximum health security for all the competitors,” Sanchez said.

There has been no play in the top tier since March 12 due to the coronavirus crisis.

“We are very pleased with the decision. It is the result of the great work of clubs, players, coaches, CSD (Spain’s sports authority), agents, etc,” Spanish league president Javier Tebas wrote on Twitter.

“But we cannot lower our guard. It is important to follow health regulations and ensure the pandemic doesn’t come back.”

Barcelona tops the table at two points above Real Madrid after 27 of 38 rounds. Messi recently said that he thinks the hiatus could “end up benefiting us.”

Teams have recently returned to training at club facilities, but with players practicing individually.

Players are also undergoing regular tests for the coronavirus, a decision that has brought criticism given the scarcity of tests for average citizens.