Five players in Spain's top two divisions have tested positive for COVID-19 since clubs began testing players and staff members last week, organizing body LaLiga said in a statement on Sunday.
LaLiga said the players would remain at their homes where they would continue individual training before being tested again "in the next few days" to determine whether they can return to their club's training ground.
Germany's plans to restart competitive soccer on May 16 have suffered an early setback after the entire team of second tier Dynamo Dresden were placed in a two-week quarantine following two positive coronavirus tests.
The Bundesliga 2 club announced on its website that tests taken on Friday had revealed two new positive cases and local health authorities had ordered the team into quarantine.
MANCHESTER, England — The chief executive of Premier League club Watford has said that plans to resume the season at neutral venues are unfair and that there could be enough clubs in opposition to stop the idea.
The Premier League's "Project Restart" envisages a return to play in June, once given the green light from government, with the remaining 92 matches held behind closed doors at neutral venues.
Scott Duxbury, CEO of Watford, says at least six clubs are against the plans — 14 of the 20 need to vote in favour for the proposals to be agreed.
FIFA announced an emergency, temporary change to the substitution rule on Friday, allowing teams five replacements per match, instead of the regular three. The change was a quick reaction to expected fixture congestion as leagues attempt to complete seasons after months-long delays caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. While a fifth option off the bench will certainly help players, the FIFA substitutions rule change highlights how little shits world football’s governing body gives about head injuries.
BARCELONA — Barcelona's women's team was officially declared champion of Spain's Liga Iberdrola on Friday after the national soccer federation's executive committee agreed to end all non-professional competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ajax is not immune to the financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the club will not be strong-armed into cut-price deals for their players in the upcoming transfer window, chief executive Edwin van der Sar said.
The Dutch club has built a reputation as the "talent factory" of European football over the last two decades and earned about $161.7 million last summer as Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt secured high-profile moves to Barcelona and Juventus, respectively.
Sporting events in the Netherlands will have to take place without fans in attendance until there is a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said.
The global pandemic has infected over 41,000 people in the Netherlands and caused 5,288 deaths.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday organized sport could resume from Sept. 1, but de Jonge said mass gatherings would not be allowed until a vaccine had been developed.
The Bundesliga season will restart on May 16 after a suspension of more than two months, the German Football League (DFL) said on Thursday, becoming the first European league to resume amid the coronavirus epidemic.
The DFL said the season would restart under the terms of a strict health protocol that bans fans from the stadium, with six games on Saturday, including the high-profile Ruhr valley derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04.
Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta celebrated the 11th anniversary of his famous Champions League semi-final strike against Chelsea by calling two children conceived after his tie-clinching goal.
Barcelona were two minutes from being eliminated from the Champions League in a tense second leg at Stamford Bridge on May 6, 2009, when Iniesta collected a pass from Lionel Messi and stroked the ball into the top corner from outside the box.
Spain's women's soccer season is on the verge of being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with champions in each tier being declared based on the standings before the campaign was halted, the country's football federation (RFEF) has said.
Relegation will be scrapped this term as a result of the decision, which must be ratified by the RFEF executive committee on Friday, the governing body added in a statement on Wednesday.