Two amateur Swedish soccer clubs felt forced to cancel a friendly and then play the game in secret due to fears of match-fixing after almost 150 bookmakers worldwide offered odds on the game in the absence of other live sport, the newspaper Sportbladet reported.
European football, currently at a standstill because of the coronavirus, is focusing on a restart in July and August with clubs and leagues being told that stopping competitions should "really be the last resort."
MANCHESTER — FIFA is working on the details of a "Football Marshall plan" to deal with the financial fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic, which will almost certainly result in them dipping into their $2.7 billion reserves.
World soccer's governing body has set up a working group to look into the myriad of issues thrown up by the halting of the game across the globe as a result of the pandemic and this week it is expected to focus on ways in which it can help give a cash boost to those struggling.
When North American sports leagues return to action after the coronavirus crisis, questions are sure to linger over whether the fans will be willing, or have the resources, to pack stadiums as they once did, sports analysts have said.
Barcelona players will make an extra contribution on top of the 70% pay cut they have agreed to take during the enforced LaLiga break so that the club's other employees can earn their full salaries during the coronavirus crisis, captain Lionel Messi said.
The club's all-time top scorer was among many Barcelona players who released identical statements on social media on Monday to confirm the decision.
Italy's sports minister said he will propose extending the ban on all competitions to the whole of April in an effort to contain the coronavirus. The death toll from the coronavirus rose past 10,000 in Italy on Saturday, a figure that made an extension of a national lockdown almost certain.
"Re-starting matches ... is unrealistic. Tomorrow I will propose to extend the ban on all sports competitions, of all levels and types, to the whole of April," Vincenzo Spadafora told daily La Repubblica in an interview.
Current contracts for players and coaches should be extended until the end of the delayed domestic soccer seasons, according to an internal FIFA document presented to its Coronavirus Working Group. The confidential document, seen by Reuters, also recommends allowing transfer windows to be changed in accordance with new season dates and urges clubs and players to work together to find solutions to salary payments during stoppages.
Chinese football is inching towards a return to action, with teams resuming training this week, though questions remain over when exactly the country's top flight can kick off its coronavirus-delayed 2020 campaign.
U.S. Soccer hopes that resolving an ongoing pay equity lawsuit with its women's national team will be a first step in a "long process" to rebuild its reputation, the body's president and CEO told reporters on Tuesday.
President Cindy Parlow Cone took over from Carlos Cordeiro less than two weeks ago after he resigned having taken responsibility for language used in a court filing that prompted public outcry, an on-field protest by players and rebukes from commercial sponsors.
As football around the world shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, defiant Belarus kicked off its new season on Thursday and said it would even allow spectators to watch the games.