Swiss friendly match draws crowd of 1,000 flouting lockdown rules
May 27 – Authorities in Switzerland are investigating reports than almost 1,000 people broke coronavirus restrictions by attending an unofficial match in Lausanne.
Europe
LaLiga gets go-ahead to restart June 8, Portugal’s Primeira Liga to start June 3
May 26 – Spain looks set to become the second of the Big Five leagues in Europe – four if you take into account the fact that football in France has been abandoned – to resume playing top-flight fixtures.
French FA scrambles to justify league-ending to UEFA, Lyon’s Aulas petitions for rethink
By Andrew Warshaw
May 26 – The French football federation (FFF) has written to UEFA to justify the premature termination of its competitions and make sure their clubs are not penalised.
Atletico’s trip to Liverpool did accelerate death rate, says scientist
May 26 – The woeful handling of the Covid-19 crisis by the British government has been underlined by a leading scientist saying that allowing two major sporting events to go ahead in March “caused increased suffering and death”.
Ceferin moots ‘luxury tax’ for clubs that choose to break FFP
May 26 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has said that his governing body is considering a ‘luxury tax’ in the wake of the covid-19 crisis.
WSL clubs cut their losses as FA puts finance before finish to women’s season
May 26 – Women’s professional football in England is over for the season after what the English FA said was “overwhelming feedback from clubs” with the decision made “in the best interest of the women’s game”.
LFP skews French pyramid with vote to expand Ligue 2 rather than relegate bottom teams
May 22 – Next season, France’s Ligue 2 will be expanded from 20 to 22 club following a vote by the French Football League (LFP). The decision still requires approval from the French FA (FFF).
Sunderland and Pompey still on return paths as EFL mandates promotion and relegation
May 22 – How to definitively end the season in the three divisions of the English professional game below the top flight remains in the balance after the English Football League (EFL) ruled promotion and relegation must take place in the Championship, League One and League Two, regardless of whether clubs vote, or have already voted, to curtail the campaign.
One competition UEFA will finish: eEURO 2020 finals kick-off Saturday
May 22 – UEFA will have some national team competitive action this weekend when 16 teams compete in the eEURO 2020 final tournament.
Bundelsliga women greenlighted for end of May return to play
May 21 – On the back of last weekend’s successful resumption of the Bundesliga, the German FA (DBF) has confirmed that the women’s Bundesliga will restart later this month as well.
Back in business: Estonian and Costa Rican leagues restart
May 20 – South Korea and Germany may have been trailblazers in restarting their domestic seasons, but other leagues are following suit. On Tuesday, action returned in both Estonia and Costa Rica.
Man City to appeal Champions League ban at CAS in June
May 20 – The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has set aside three days in June to hear Manchester City’s eagerly anticipated appeal against a two-year ban from European competition for breaching financial fair play rules.
Coronavirus: Ceferin wary of financial impact, but says football will still be football
May 20 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin admits he has been having sleepless nights due to the effects on football of the Covid-19 pandemic, partly because of the huge amount of money that will be lost, as the organisation pushes ahead to try and get the Champions League and Europa League completed.
UEFA puts off exco meet as it grapples with re-scheduling Euro 2020
May 19 – UEFA has postponed a key executive committee meeting until June 17 as it grapples with how the remainder of this season’s Champions League and Europa League campaigns will pan out.
Coronavirus: LaLiga’s new protocols open way to old rivalries
May 19 – Spain’s La Liga has drawn up a detailed plan for the clubs to implement when match days return with the league hoping for a June 12 start behind closed doors.