Abandoning the English Premier League season prematurely was discussed by clubs as a potential option Monday even as the government cleared a path to resuming the competition in June if there is no new spike in coronavirus infections.
While spectators will not be allowed into stadiums for some time, the British government embraced the return of professional sports in contrast to rulings by French and Dutch authorities who have banned any events until September.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that restoring some sports “could provide a much-needed boost to national morale" after being shut down as Britain went into lockdown in March.
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“Cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed-doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact” will be allowed, the government announced in its 50-page plan to ease lockdown restrictions.
Fans will not be allowed back into stadiums until “significantly later,” the document said.
But the fate of the 20-team Premier League is in doubt partly because clubs cannot all agree on the plan, advanced by police, to play only in neutral stadiums. Play was suspended March 13 with 92 matches yet to be played,
The opposition is led by relegation-threatened clubs who discovered Monday that their final placings could be determined without playing another game.
“It was the first time we discussed curtailment," Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said after a conference call with clubs. “It’s still our aim to finish the season but it’s important to discuss all the options with our clubs."
No conclusions were reached on whether that would involve finalizing the league standings based on a points-per-game formula as the French league did before declaring Paris Saint-Germain champion.
Liverpool is 25 points clear in the Premier League with nine games remaining but clubs remain divided over accepting a plan promoted by police to use neutral venues for all games to limit the burden on authorities.
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“Everybody would prefer to play home and away if at all possible,” Masters said. "We are in contact with the authorities.
Police fear fans gathering at stadiums even if they are not allowed in.
Britain’s official coronavirus death toll stood on Monday at 32,065, the highest in Europe and the second highest in the world after the United States. While the number of new known deaths and infections is falling, Johnson said it would be “madness” to loosen restrictions so much that there is a new surge in cases.
But the government announced that step two of its plan for easing the lockdown included allowing "sporting events to take place behind closed doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large scale social contact.”
German soccer set schedule
The German soccer federation has set dates for the return of the women’s Bundesliga, men’s third division, and new dates for the remaining German Cup matches.
Soccer in the country has been suspended since March 13 because of the coronavirus pandemic but Chancellor Angela Merkel said last week it could return subject to strict measures. The league then announced the men’s Bundesliga and second division would resume May 16.
The women’s Bundesliga has six rounds remaining and is to restart May 29. The men’s third division has 11 rounds remaining and will resume on May 26 and conclude on June 30. Relegation-promotion playoffs will be scheduled in July.
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The German Cup final has been rescheduled for July 4. The semifinals will be played on June 9 and 10. The women’s cup final is slated for the same day as the men’s.
Federation president Fritz Keller says all the matches will likely be played in empty stadiums “but I am convinced that this is by far the best solution.”
World Baseball Classic pushed to 2023
The World Baseball Classic will be postponed from 2021 to 2023 because of the coronavirus, a person familiar with the planning told the Associated Press.
The decision must be approved by the WBC board of directors, which is expected. The board includes representatives of Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, the World Baseball Softball Confederation, Nippon Professional Baseball, and Korea Baseball Organization.
The fifth edition of the tournament was scheduled for next March 9-23 in Taiwan, Tokyo, Phoenix, and Miami. The Marlins were to host the semifinals and final along with half of the quarterfinals, which also were to be played in Tokyo.
Qualifying had been scheduled for this past March, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
The United States won the tournament for the first time in 2017 following titles by Japan in 2006 and 2009 and the Dominican Republic in 2013.
Meanwhile, the head of Japanese baseball says the 12-team league is hoping to start play next month but no specific date has been set.
Japan is living under a state of emergency that is in effect until May 31.
Commissioner Atsushi Saito said “I don’t think anyone can make preparations by setting a specific opening day.”
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Saito says the All-Star game in July has been canceled for the first time since it was initially held almost 70 years ago. The Japanese season was originally scheduled to open March 20.
And although games may be weeks away, the factory that supplies bats to many MLB players resumed production Monday in Kentucky.
The Hillerich & Bradsby plant that makes Louisville Slugger bats had been idled for nearly two months because of the coronavirus outbreak. Workers started filling orders for some big leaguers as parts of Kentucky’s economy reopened Monday after weeks of shutdowns.
Auto and boat dealerships were among the sectors allowed to relaunch in-person service. Also reopening were manufacturing, construction, office-based businesses, pet grooming, and photography businesses. Horse racing tracks also can now operate but only with essential employees and no fans, with revenue generated through off-track betting.
Hillerich & Bradsby resumed bat production with new health and safety protocols that include twice-daily temperature checks and masks for its employees and social distancing standards.
Banks boost Canadian tennis
Canada’s National Bank is offering cash grants to each of 23 tennis players from the country who are facing financial issues because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tennis Canada announced the grants of $7,000 to $14,000, from National Bank, saying the amounts will depend on a player’s ranking.
The money will help professionals ranked from 100 to 750 in singles or between 25 and 100 in doubles, members of the top 100 in the ITF junior rankings who are transitioning to the pros, and players in the top 50 of the ITF wheelchair rankings.
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All sanctioned tennis events have been called off since March because of the outbreak, and all tennis events in Canada are called off until the end of August, except for the Rogers Cup men’s tournament in Toronto. The WTA and ATP are suspended until at least mid-July everywhere.
Elsewhere, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and third-ranked Karolina Pliskova will lead teams in a charity event during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pliskova’s team will include her twin sister Kristyna, 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova, Tereza Martincova, and Nikola Bartunkova.
Kvitova will be joined in her squad by Barbora Strycova, Katerina Siniakova, Barbora Krejcikova, Linda Fruhvirtova, and Russian player Ekaterina Alexandrova.
The first of the four tournaments that are part of the competition is scheduled for June 13-15 in Prague.
Horse racing returns to France
French horse racing resumed after a break of nearly two months, while the sport in Britain was made to wait until June 1 at the earliest for a restart. Jockeys wore masks or face coverings and there was limited personnel on the famed Longchamp Racecourse in western Paris as authorities gave the go-ahead for France Galop to stage racing without spectators. Strict social distancing and hygiene measures were also in place. “What satisfaction to see this first race finally arriving,” Olivier Delloye, chief executive of France Galop, said on Twitter alongside a picture of some horses about to enter stalls. Races were also held at Compiègne in northern France. British horse racing, which has been on hold since March 17 and had hoped to resume without spectators sometime this month, announced it was “committed to plan for resumption on June 1." . . . The Turkish Basketball Federation says it is canceling its season amid the coronavirus outbreak. Federation president Hidayet Turkoglu said the decision was reached following consultations with all basketball clubs and no team will be declared champion. Turkoglu said, “This was the best decision for basketball.” Turkey suspended all league sports in March but the country’s soccer federation announced last week it plans to resume games June 12 and host the Champions League final in Istanbul in August . . . Also in Turkey, the volleyball league has been canceled. Turkish Volleyball Federation president Mehmet Akif Ustundag says no team will be declared champion and no team will be relegated. “The men’s and women’s leagues have been registered as they stand,” he said.
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Premier League gets green light to resume season - The Boston Globe
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