May 7th Daily Update

- May 07, 2020

Despite the majority of football leagues being at a standstill, everyday I will bring updates of what is going on in football leagues around the world.

England: League Managers Association chief executive Richard Bevan states that the Premier League will be cancelled if some clubs don't agree to playing at neutral grounds. The neutral grounds will be in stadiums where the local population is less dense to avoid crowds outside the stadiums. All Premier League clubs along with some Championship clubs have invested in coronavirus testing machines. The testing machines give back results in about two and a half hours, which cost £36,000 according to the Guardian.

Premier League trophy

Image Source: TalkSport

France: As of April 28th, all French leagues won't continue the 2019-2020 season.

Ligue 1:

PSG were declared 2019-2020 Ligue 1 champions
2nd place Marseille will join PSG in the Champions League group stages
Rennes will be in the 3rd qualifying round
4th place Lille will compete in next season's Europa League
Remaining two Europa League spots remain up in the air.

Cup Competitions:

The Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue Final can determine the two remaining Europa League spots.
LFP director general Didier Quillot stated that there is a possibility of the domestic cup finals to take place in August.

Ligue 2:

Lorient won the Ligue 2 will be promoted to the Ligue 1 with 2nd place Lens
Bottom two Ligue 1 teams Amiens and Toulouse will be relegated to the Ligue 2
Hasn't been a decision on if the bottom two teams Le Mans & Orleans will get relegated to the Championnat National.

The decision on these clubs fate will be decided on May 20th at the general assembly of the French Football Federation (FFF).

Championnat National (3rd tier):

A decision hasn't been made yet if teams will be promoted from and relegated to the Championnat National.

PSG declared winners of the 2019-2020 Ligue 1 season

Image Source: Ligue 1

Germany: Yesterday German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the green light for the Bundesliga & Bundesliga 2 to resume matches behind closed doors in the end of May. All 36 of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs will have a meeting today to decide which exact date to resume the season. The leagues could start already on May 16 as the league (DFL) want to have the season finished by the end of June when players contracts expire. The DFL have tested 1,724 players and staff on Monday with ten positive for the coronavirus.

Dortmund's Jadon Sancho dribbles past Alphonso Davies

Image Source: Forbes

Italy: Italian football clubs have begun returning back to training on Monday by training individually. Training as a team is scheduled for May 18, however as of yesterday an unidentified Torino FC player got tested positive for COVID-19. The club stated on its website that “The player, currently asymptomatic, was immediately placed in quarantine and will be constantly monitored". To make things worse, the Minister for Sport Vincenzo Spadaforo declared last week that resuming the 2019/20 Serie A season is “becoming increasingly unlikely”. According to Football Italia, all Serie A teams expect for Brescia and Torino have agreed to resume the season.

US Sassuolo players train as they are the first team in Serie A to do so

Image Source: Kerosi Blog

Portugal:

Primeira Liga (1st tier):

As of May 2nd the Primeira Liga will officially resume the 2019-2020 season on May 30th, becoming the first major league to restart.
The remaining 10 rounds of fixtures will be behind closed doors
Porto and Benfica are currently fighting for the top spot.

Taça de Portugal Final

Porto vs Benfica
Exact date and time unknown

LigaPro (2nd tier):

Even though it is also unknown what will happen with the LigaPro (2nd tier), it is expected that it will also resume matches along with the lower tiers.

Porto players celebrate after scoring against Braga

Image Source: Radio Regional

Spain: Spanish football clubs have returned to training on May 4th and started with individual training. La Liga organisers are aiming to resume the 2019-2020 season in June. On May 11, trainings can begin in small groups and on the 1st of June full training sessions are permitted.