Four players from Italian side Sampdoria have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including one for the second time, while Fiorentina said three players and three staff members tested positive while a day earlier Torino said one player had contracted the virus.
Four players from Italian side Sampdoria have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, including one for the second time, the Serie club said.
"Currently asymptomatic, they have been placed in quarantine and will be constantly monitored as per protocol," the club said in a statement.
Fiorentina said three players and three staff members tested positive while a day earlier Torino said one player had contracted the new coronavirus.
On Thursday, the government said it was still examining medical guidelines of the Italian football federation, which are seen as the stumbling block to a resumption of the season.
Teams have been allowed to start practicing this week with players training individually and adhering to social distancing protocols. Full team practices are due to begin on May 18, but only if the medical protocol is approved.
Five Sampdoria players -- Manolo Gabbiadini, Morten Thorsby, Albin Ekdal, Omar Colley and Antonino La Gumina -- as well as team doctor Amedeo Baldari had tested positive in March.
Italy has recorded more than 215,000 cases of the virus, which has caused over 29,000 deaths in the country.
No fans in Dutch stadiums until vaccine developed, says health minister
Sporting events in the Netherlands will have to take place without fans in attendance until there is a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, Health Minister Hugo de Jonge said.
The global pandemic has infected over 41,000 people in the Netherlands and caused 5,288 deaths.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday organised sport could resume from Sept. 1, but de Jonge said mass gatherings would not be allowed until a vaccine had been developed.
“We cannot yet mention a date for the last step, the mass gatherings. That is actually only possible if there is a vaccine and no one knows how long it will take,” de Jonge wrote in a letter to the Dutch parliament.
“We hope of course soon, but a year or more is very real.”
The top-flight Dutch soccer league was brought to an end last month after the government extended a ban on public events, with no league title awarded and relegation and promotion scrapped.
Getafe offer fans free season tickets for next campaign
Spanish La Liga side Getafe will offer all season ticket holders free passes for the entirety of the next campaign to mitigate for the disruption of this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the club’s president Angel Torres has said.
“Next year all 13,500 season ticket holders will go to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium for free,” Torres told Radio Marca on Thursday.
“We won’t charge them, we’re going to offer all of them their seats for free for every league game, they won’t pay anything at all, it will come out of my pocket if it has to.”
Getafe’s announcement comes a day after Atletico Madrid said they would offer their season ticket holders a 20% discount for their passes for the following campaign to compensate for the loss of five matches this season due to the halt in action.
Getafe were fifth in La Liga and fighting for a Champions League berth when the league was put on hold in March due to the pandemic.
Players in Spain’s top two divisions underwent testing for the virus from Wednesday as a first step towards resuming activity and organisers hope to resume action by June, playing all 11 remaining rounds of matches without spectators.
Germany’s Bundesliga is set to be the first of Europe’s top five soccer leagues to resume action after organisers confirmed on Thursday that matches will start from May 16.
