No date for Serie A re-start – Italian PM

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte gave the go-ahead on Sunday for professional sports teams to start training again in May following the novel coronavirus outbreak. Conte however did not set a date for football’s top-flight Serie A championship to resume.

The prime minister, announcing measures to ease the lockdown during a televised address to the country, said individual training could start on May 4.

But he added that players would still have to respect social distancing rules, and that team training could begin on May 18. Italy was the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus and Serie A has been suspended since March 9. The suspension followed a chaotic fortnight in which the country attempted to carry on with matches behind closed doors. Conte said sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora would work “intensively” with scientists and sports leaders to ensure training was safe. Vanguard