Europe

BARCELONA — Spanish soccer's top flight division La Liga can return to action from June 8 after being disrupted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.

All organised soccer in Spain was provisionally suspended on March 12 although clubs in the top two divisions have since returned to group training.

La Liga has yet to officially confirm a date on which it will resume, although its president Javier Tebas had said previously he hoped the season could do so from June 12.

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kanté is prepared to sit out the remainder of the Premier League season, if it resumes, after expressing concerns over returning to training, British media have reported.

ROME — The head of the Italian Referees Association (AIA) hopes match officials will be treated with greater respect if and when Serie A returns following the coronavirus stoppage.

"I hope this virus will teach us to change our attitudes and have a bit more respect," AIA head Marcello Nicchi told Radio Sportiva in an interview.

"Was the coronavirus needed to say that players should keep their distance from the referee when they protest? It's an ethical issue that I hope everyone will assimilate."

MILAN — Italy's heritage authority raised no objections to tearing down Milan's 1920s-era San Siro arena, a document seen by Reuters showed, removing a major obstacle to the city's top-flight soccer clubs plans to replace it with a new stadium.

Serie A clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan, respectively owned by U.S. fund Elliott and Chinese electronic retailer Suning, last year filed a request to jointly build a new 60,000-seater stadium in the San Siro area.

Chelsea midfielder N’golo Kanté will not be returning to training with the club after being granted compassionate leave due to his personal fears of the coronavirus. The West London club hasn’t given any timeframe as to when he will return.

Kanté went to the first training session on Tuesday, May 19, where he was seen socially distanced from Christian Pulisic and several other teammates.

A couple of new hairstyles to report: pic.twitter.com/BWau2oDMs3

Spain coach Luis Enrique is no fan of playing matches without spectators as leagues begin to return in empty stadiums after being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Playing matches without supporters is sadder than dancing with your sister," Luis Enrique said in an interview for Spanish basketball show Colgados del Aro.

Last weekend the Bundesliga became the first major European league to resume action and players were unable to celebrate goals together to reduce the risk of infection while stadiums normally packed with boisterous supporters were left bare.

LaLiga will use a video analysis program to help it determine if a player is likely to have infected a teammate or opponent if they test positive for the coronavirus once the season re-starts, according to a draft protocol drawn up by the league.

The protocol, seen by Reuters, was sent out to clubs in Spain's top two divisions on Monday and is an updated version of the document clubs received earlier this month.

LONDON — The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has set aside three days in June to hear Manchester City's appeal against a two-year ban from European competition for breaching fair play rules.

Updated listings posted on the CAS website on Tuesday set a June 8-10 date.

European soccer's governing body UEFA imposed the ban in February for "serious breaches" of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.

The Premier League said on Tuesday that six people from three different clubs had tested positive for COVID-19 out of a sample of 748 individuals.

The novel coronavirus tests were taken on Sunday and Monday ahead of the return to small group training.

"Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days," the league said in a statement.

"The Premier League is providing this aggregated information for the purposes of competition integrity and transparency.

TURIN — Five-times World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined Serie A champions Juventus for training on Tuesday after an absence of 72 days that included the last two weeks in quarantine.

The 35-year-old was filmed arriving at the Turin club's Continassa training ground in a black car and was due to undergo a medical before joining coach Maurizio Sarri and his teammates.