Spanish clubs allowed to train with limits
MADRID » Spanish league clubs are allowed to train with groups of up to 14 players as the league stays on track to restart in less than three weeks.
Only 10 players were allowed in group training last week because of confinement restrictions that are gradually being lifted across the hard-hit nation where nearly 27,000 known people have died with COVID-19.
Group training sessions are part of the penultimate phase before teams can be considered ready to return to competition. Full squad sessions are expected to begin next week, depending on how the coronavirus pandemic progresses.
“We’ve gone through some very difficult and complicated moments during this pandemic and we don’t want to jump the gun,” Spanish league president Javier Tebas said late Sunday in his weekly interview with league broadcaster Movistar.
Players were allowed to practice only individually during the first stage of training.
Tebas said the competition is expected to resume without fans on June 11 — a Thursday — with the Seville derby. He said the popular first-division match between rivals Sevilla and Real Betis would be a good way to mark the return to competition and “honor those who have lost their lives” during the pandemic in Spain.
Tebas said it remains impossible to guarantee the June 11 start date because the decision ultimately depends on how the pandemic and the training phases progress. That would be nearly three months after soccer came to a halt in
Spain and most of Europe.
“We need to align the phases, meet with the Spanish soccer federation and the Spanish sports council to finalize everything,” he said.
Tebas said the schedule for the first four rounds after the league resumes is expected to be announced in early June, with all matches expected to take place in empty stadiums. Spanish authorities don’t expect fans to be allowed in sports events at least until after the summer.
The league president said kickoff times will take high temperatures into account during the Spanish summer. The Sevilla-Betis game is expected to start at 10 p.m. local time (2000 GMT).
“Our plan for kickoff times during the week would be to play in the afternoon or evening, between
7:30-8 p.m. or 9:30-10 p.m.,” he said. “Over the weekend, there would be three slots:
5 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 9:30 or 10 p.m.”
Lyon boss asks PM to reconsider early end of French season
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas is asking French authorities to backpedal on their decision to end the football season prematurely amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The men’s league was canceled four weeks ago with 10 rounds remaining, Paris Saint-Germain declared champion, and Lyon finished outside the European places in seventh.
In a letter on Monday to French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu, Aulas argued the premature conclusion of the season will have catastrophic consequences for French clubs, which could face losses of “700 to 900” million euros ($760 million to $980 million).
Alongside Amiens and Toulouse — the two clubs demoted to the second division — Lyon took action against the league decision but their case was thrown out last week by a Paris administrative court. Lyon now wants France’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, to issue a ruling on the matter.
In the letter, Aulas said the fact that the French league was the only one among the seven biggest European leagues to opt for an early end should convince authorities to reconsider their move.
In Europe, the Dutch and Belgian leagues have also ended their 2019-20 seasons early.
Aulas has argued for the French league to be given a chance to be completed by late August with a temporary playoff system, but with PSG staying the champion given its large lead before play was stopped.
“The Bundesliga resumed matches on May 16, Spain will resume matches on June 8. Italy, Russia and Portugal have resumed collective training and England is working on a resumption after June 19,” Aulas wrote. “How can France not be downgraded very quickly and see its professional football devalued?”
On June 2, the French government is expected to make further announcements related to France’s lockdown exit strategy.
Women’s Super League in England canceled because of virus
LONDON » The top women’s soccer league in England was canceled with immediate effect Monday because of the coronavirus outbreak, with no decision reached on which teams have won the title and been relegated.
The decision was taken to end the Women’s Super League following “overwhelming feedback from the clubs,” the Football Association said, and to give them the chance to “prepare and focus on next season.”
Manchester City was leading the league by a point from Chelsea, which had seven games still to play — one more than City. Defending champion Arsenal was a further three points behind and also had a game in hand. If the league was decided on average points per game, Chelsea would win the title.
“Whilst disappointed that we are unable to complete the season,” City said in a statement, “we understand the complexities of the situation and support the FA’s decision.”