Roma

The Serie A season could be extended to September or October, the head of the Italian FA (FIGC) said on Sunday, warning that there could be an "avalanche of litigation" if it was not settled on the field. 

Serie A has been suspended since March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed 15,887 lives in Italy, almost a quarter of the global death total. Several club presidents have suggested that the season should be called off. 

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. 

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.

The Serie A season runs the risk of not finishing if more matches are postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, Inter Milan's chief executive Giuseppe Marotta said on Sunday. Inter's match at Juventus, which was to have been played later on Sunday, was one of five which were postponed by Serie A on Saturday. 

In what will prove a controversial move, Barcelona looks likely to sign Leganes forward Martin Braithwaite. After season-ending injuries to both Ousmane Dembélé and Luis Suarez, the Catalan side finds itself sorely lacking in forward depth. 

When Germany and Italy lineup in international play, you stop what you’re doing and take notice — even if the players on show are in their 40s, 50s and 60s. On Monday, a team of Azzurri Legends — with a starting XI comprised entirely of ’82 and ’06 World Cup-winners — played against a team of Germany All-Stars in Fürth. 

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