Juventus

Serie A has not even restarted following the coronavirus stoppage, yet pressure is already mounting on Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri following his side's failure to win the Coppa Italia.

Napoli stunned Juventus when they won 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to claim the Coppa Italia on Wednesday and bring their fiery coach Gennaro Gattuso the first major trophy of his coaching career.

Paulo Dybala and Danilo missed Juve's first two efforts in the shootout while Napoli converted all of their attempts to win the trophy for the sixth time while also ending Juve's hopes of winning the treble this season.

It was the first title to be settled in the Italian season which has just restarted after a three-month hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Coppa Italia semifinals will be played on June 12-13 while the final will be held on June 17, Italy's Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora confirmed on Thursday.

Juventus and AC Milan, who played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg, will play on June 12. Napoli host Inter Milan a day later at the San Paolo Stadium, leading 1-0 on aggregate.

Serie A said in a statement last week that the Italian season, which has been suspended since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would resume with the cup competition before the league restarts on June 20.

Italy's top-flight Serie A soccer league has been given the go-ahead to restart on June 20 following the novel coronavirus stoppage, sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora said on Thursday. He added that there was a possibility the resumption of the season, which was suspended on March 9, could be preceded by Italian Cup matches one week earlier. 

"Italy is starting up again and it's only right that football can also get going," he told reporters after a conference call with representatives from the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). 

After weeks of wrangling, with several U-turns on the way, Italy is due to decide on Thursday if and when its top-flight Serie A soccer league can resume after the coronavirus stoppage. 

Possibly encouraged by seeing how Germany's Bundesliga has restarted without problems so far, the Italian government appears to have relaxed its position recently. 

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.

Italy's Serie A clubs voted in a favor of restarting the season on June 13 during a general assembly on Wednesday, if the government allows. 

The Italian top flight has been suspended since March 9 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and, although the government has authorized teams to hold collective training sessions from next Monday, it has not yet decided if and when the championship can resume. 

The companies holding the broadcasting rights to Italy's top-flight Serie A soccer championship, including Comcast's unit SKY, have not paid the last installment of the 2019-20 season, which has been halted due to the coronavirus outbreak, three sources familiar with the matter said.