Italy

The president of bottom-of-the-table Brescia has said that it makes no sense to try to complete the Serie A season and that he would rather forfeit matches than put his team on the pitch. 

A national lockdown has been in place in Italy since March 9 and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday that the restrictions would remain in place until at least April 13. He added the government would start softening the measures only with the approval of its scientific advisors, without setting an exact date. 

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. 

Juventus forward Paulo Dybala, one of the highest-profile players to be infected with the coronavirus, has started training again after recovering from the illness which he said left him struggling for breath.

Dybala is one of three players at Juventus who have tested positive for the virus alongside defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder Blaise Matuidi, a World Cup winner with France in 2018. Players at other Serie A clubs have also tested positive.

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. 

Having spent over 15 years in England playing professionally with Watford, Aston Villa and Manchester United, Ashley Young now sits in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in northern Italy. Young recently took the time to share with his Twitter followers what the situation looks like and to offer helpful advice.

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my thoughts given I'm currently living in Italy, the epicentre of the virus.

Cristiano Ronaldo and football agent Jorge Mendes joined forces on Tuesday to donate lifesaving equipment to Portuguese hospitals struggling to treat patients with coronavirus. The two will donate equipment for two wards at Lisbon's Santa Maria hospital, providing the wards with 10 beds each, ventilators, heart monitors, infusion pumps and syringes, the hospital said in a statement. 

One of the great joys (unless you’re Juventus president Andrea Agnelli) of European competition is the annual group of overachievers that disrupts the established rule while playing some of the best football on the planet. In recent seasons, the leading examples have been Ajax (2018-19), Roma (2017-18) and Monaco (2016-17). 

This year, that title belongs to Atalanta, the team with Italy's 12th-highest wage bill. 

Serie A surprised fans in February when it began postponing matches because of COVID-19. Postponement soon became protocol. The Match Day 25 fixture between Inter Milan and Sampdoria was the first of a long list of postponed matches to come. Two weeks later, Italy’s Prime Minister announced all sports in the country would be postponed.

ROME — The President of the Italian Players’ Union (AIC) believes it would be nonsensical and dangerous for soccer teams to resume training next week as Italy battles with a devastating coronavirus outbreak.

All sport has been suspended since March 9 and a nationwide lockdown enforced, as the country attempts to stem the spread of a virus that has now killed 4,032 people, more than any other nation.

ROME — Italian soccer clubs, players and fans have banded together to raise millions of euros to support the country’s stretched health system amid the devastating coronavirus outbreak.

Thursday was one of the bleakest days in Italy’s battle against COVID-19 as the death toll rose to 3,405, overtaking China as the highest number of fatalities from the disease in one country.

A state of nationwide lockdown remains in place as the government looks to control the spread of the virus and all sports events have been suspended since March 9.