KLAGENFURT, Austria — Salzburg won the Austrian Cup with a ruthless 5-0 destruction of second-tier Austria Lustenau in the final as the season resumed following the coronavirus stoppage on Friday.
With the victory, Salzburg coach Jesse Marsch, a Wisconsin native, became the first American-born coach to win a major trophy in Europe.
MOSCOW — Russia's Sports Minister said on Friday he welcomed a decision by the authorities to allow spectators into stadiums when matches in the country's top professional soccer league resume next month.
The Russian Premier League halted matches in mid-March because of the COVID-19 crisis and is set to resume action on June 21.
"It's important that the soccer championship resumes in the presence of spectators, even though small in number," Russian news agencies quoted Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin as saying.
PRAGUE — The top Czech soccer league resumed on Saturday after a two-month break due to the new coronavirus pandemic, with Teplice beating Slovan Liberec 2-0 in a match that included pre-kickoff temperature checks and other protective measures.
The re-start made the Czech league one of the first in Europe to take to the pitch again, following the Bundesliga which resumed last weekend in neighboring Germany.
BARCELONA — Spanish soccer's top flight division La Liga can return to action from June 8 after being disrupted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Saturday.
All organised soccer in Spain was provisionally suspended on March 12 although clubs in the top two divisions have since returned to group training.
La Liga has yet to officially confirm a date on which it will resume, although its president Javier Tebas had said previously he hoped the season could do so from June 12.
LONDON — The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has set aside three days in June to hear Manchester City's appeal against a two-year ban from European competition for breaching fair play rules.
Updated listings posted on the CAS website on Tuesday set a June 8-10 date.
European soccer's governing body UEFA imposed the ban in February for "serious breaches" of the Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
UEFA has a plan to finish the 2019-20 season by August, including the Champions League and Europa League campaigns, the European soccer governing body's president Aleksander Ceferin has said.
The majority of European league seasons were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but a few leagues have announced plans for a restart in the coming weeks.
The French and Dutch top-flight campaigns have been cancelled but the German Bundesliga restarted on Saturday and Ceferin expects at least 80% of national leagues to finish their seasons.
Bundesliga teams will be allowed up to five substitutions per match when it restarts on Saturday after the coronavirus stoppage, while teams will be relegated provided the season is completed, the German Football League (DFL) said on Thursday.
Short-term venue changes will also be permitted if health reasons dictate such a need and the season will continue beyond its re-scheduled finish date of June 30 and into July if necessary, the DFL said following a general assembly.
On April 1, 2020, the Champions League was suspended until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four second leg Round of 16 fixtures had been completed, but four remained to be played, including Juventus vs. Lyon in Turin following the French club’s shocking 1-0 first leg victory.
ROME — FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani has said that moving the European soccer season to the calendar year is a "possibility to be discussed" in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic which has brought football to a standstill around the world.
In an interview with Italy's Radio Sportiva, Montagliani, who is seen as a close ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, said the move would fit in with the 2022 World Cup being played in Qatar in November and December.
MANCHESTER, England — European football leagues have been given a May 25 deadline to inform governing body UEFA of their plans to restart their domestic competitions.
Soccer has ground to a halt in all major leagues in Europe and none have yet to resume. But UEFA is keen to start planning for next season's European club tournaments.