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.
Reports flooded out of Milan on Monday about Zlatan Ibrahimovic picking up an injury during training with AC Milan. The Italian club said the injury was sustained to his calf and he'll undergo medical exams on Tuesday to discover its extent.
Several different outlets in Milan had reported that the situation was far more severe and that Ibrahimovic could be done not only for the season but for his career with a ruptured Achilles tendon, but that's not the case.
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.
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.
Professional soccer leagues around Europe are gearing up for a return to action following the novel coronavirus stoppage, but some are more advanced than others. Here is a roundup of the state of play.
GERMANY
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.
Sebastian Giovinco was the best thing to ever happen to Toronto FC. After eight years of fruitless existence in MLS, the Italian’s arrival heralded the beginning of a golden era for the club, culminating in a 2017 MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double and a heartbreaking shootout defeat to Chivas in the CONCACAF Champions League final.
FIFA has proposed that teams should be allowed to make up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, as a temporary measure to help cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Football has been at a standstill since mid-March but many leagues and federations are still hoping to complete the season but to do so they would have to cram fixtures into a shorter period than usual once play re-starts.