Europe

Queens Park Rangers chief executive Lee Hoos has slammed the English Football League's plans to resume the Championship (second-tier) season on June 20, saying clubs were informed of the decision only moments before it was made public.

The Championship has been suspended since March 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the government has given the green light for elite sport to return from Monday behind closed doors provided strict conditions are met.

Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi said that both life and soccer have forever been changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 is responsible for the deaths of 370,000 people worldwide as of Sunday afternoon. It has also wreaked havoc with the sports landscape for much of 2020.

LaLiga, Spain's top-flight soccer league, is set to resume on June 11, albeit without fans in the stands. The first match on the slate will feature the Seville derby between Real Betis and Sevilla.

With Bayern Munich taking what’s almost certainly an unassailable lead at the top of the Bundesliga, the La Liga return date of June 11 can’t come soon enough for those thirsting for a bit of sporting drama in their lives. With 11 matches still to go for every side in Spain’s top division, the La Liga return schedule highlights the twists and turns we have lying ahead.

Valencia has criticized Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini for taking charge of his side's Champions League match against the Spanish side in March despite suffering from symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Gasperini told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday that he felt ill on the day before the last-16 second leg match in Valencia on March 10, which was played without spectators as northern Italy was then the epicenter of the virus in Europe.

He also confirmed he has since tested positive from an antibodies test.

After a scoreless first half, Borussia Dortmund shifted through the gears in the second 45 to overwhelm Paderborn 6-1 on Sunday. The match featured a couple of historic firsts for Dortmund: 20-year-old English phenom Jadon Sancho notched his first professional hat-trick, and 17-year-old American prodigy Giovanni Reyna registered his first Bundesliga assist.

Gladbach took care of business against Union Berlin on Sunday with a comfortable 4-1 victory. The biggest talking point of the match came in the 41st minute, when Alassane Pléa found Marcus Thuram for a well-placed header and the Frenchman quietly celebrated in a powerful way.

Alassane Pléa → Marcus Thuram@borussia_en's French connection strikes again pic.twitter.com/33rXCHv7nc

French champion Paris Saint-Germain has signed striker Mauro Icardi on a permanent deal from Inter Milan, the Serie A club said on Sunday. Argentine Icardi, 27, joined PSG in September on a season-long loan with a buy-out option.

"FC Internazionale Milano announces the transfer of Mauro Icardi to Paris Saint-Germain FC: the striker, born in 1993, has permanently moved to the French club," Inter said in a statement. "The club thanks the player for the six seasons he spent with us and wishes him the best for his future professional career."

German-American coach David Wagner saw his Schalke side fall to a fourth consecutive defeat with a 1-0 result against Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Hertha BSC secured a 2-0 victory over Augsburg in front of a haunting, empty Olympiastadion on Saturday. 

Hertha went ahead in the first half through Javairo Dilrosun. The team found itself on the back foot for much of the second half as Augsburg pushed constantly for an equalizer, but Krzysztof Piatek sealed the win with a goal on the counterattack in stoppage time. 

Don't sleep on @HerthaBSC_EN  

LONDON — The Premier League's planned restart on June 17 received a further boost on Saturday when the latest batch of novel coronavirus tests produced no positive results.

The tests were carried out on Thursday and Friday.

"The Premier League can today confirm that on Thursday 28 May and Friday 29 May, 1,130 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19. Of these, zero have tested positive," the league said in a statement.

In the three previous rounds of testing since players resumed training there were 12 positives.