Belarusian Premier League match postponed due to suspected COVID-19 cases
Monday 11 May 2020 19:17, UK
Serie A clubs will be allowed to start team training from May 18, the Italian government said on Monday in a boost for plans to resume the season.
The clubs were allowed to resume training last Monday but only on an individual basis and respecting social distancing rules.
The government said its technical-scientific committee had conducted a close examination of the protocol which the Italian football federation (FIGC) plans to implement to ensure training can be conducted safely.
"The committee's indications, which are to be considered stringent and binding, will be sent to the FIGC for the necessary adjustments to the protocol so as to allow the safe resumption of team training from 18 May," it said.
Serie A has been suspended since March 9 and the government has yet to decide if it will allow the season to be completed.
Meanwhile, a Belarusian Premier League match - as well as a game in the country's second-tier division - have been postponed due to suspected COVID-19 cases, the domestic football federation said on Monday.
Belarus was the only country in Europe playing football amid the coronavirus pandemic, making it an unlikely draw for fans overseas where matches have been cancelled.
There are almost 24,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in Belarus, with more than 130 deaths.
The federation said that the top-flight game between FC Minsk and Neman Grodno, scheduled to take place on May 15, has been called off due to suspected COVID-19 cases among the home team's players.
The second-tier match between Arsenal Dzerzhinsk and leaders Lokomotiv Gomel, scheduled for May 16, was postponed because of suspected cases among Lokomotiv players.
New dates for the games were not announced.
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has been publicly sceptical about the need for strong action to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
He has called fears over the virus a "psychosis" and variously suggested drinking vodka, visiting saunas or playing ice hockey to beat the disease.
