Milan’s San Siro stadium is closer to being demolished after Italy’s heritage authority found that the iconic stadium cannot be protected for cultural or historic reasons.

“The property named ‘Giuseppe Meazza Stadium (San Siro) has no cultural interest and as such is excluded from the protection provisions,” the Lombardy region of Italy’s cultural heritage ministry wrote in a report, according to the AGI news agency.

AC Milan and Inter Milan, who share the stadium to the west of the city, have launched their bid to knock down the San Siro and build a new 60,000-capacity home on the same site.

City authorities have been divided over the project and requested the opinion of Italy’s heritage authorities.

The report found that as the San Siro has undergone continuous transformation since being built in 1926, with only a small part of the original stadium remaining, it would not be subject to protection.

Although approval from Italy’s heritage body is not the final decision, it could be an important step towards both teams’ hope of redeveloping the site.

The clubs want to build a new ground adjacent to the current San Siro, while the old stadium would make way for an area “dedicated to sports, entertainment, and shopping”.

The two clubs presented their projects last September and estimated that it would require an investment of 1.2 billion euros ($1.34 billion).

Milan Mayor Guiseppe Sala insists he wants to renovate the existing stadium so that it could celebrate its centenary in 2026 by hosting the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics that year.

Both clubs are former European giants with AC Milan having won the Champions League seven times while Inter were the last Italian team to win the European title, when they lifted the trophy for the third time in 2010.

Neither have won the Serie A title since AC Milan triumphed in 2011.

Source: AFP

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has joked that his biggest lesson from the coronavirus lockdown is just how outspoken former Manchester United defender Gary Neville can be.

In his role as a television pundit, Neville has vented on a range of issues related to the Premier League and the health crisis.

The former England international has criticised Premier League chiefs for being slow to give updates on their restart plans.

He also took issue with the government’s call for players to take wage cuts during the pandemic and let rip on a host of other subjects.

Klopp could not resist a good-natured jibe at Neville when asked what his lockdown experience had been like.

“I didn’t learn a lot in lockdown, other than Gary Neville has an opinion about absolutely everything. It is incredible,” Klopp told the BBC’s Football Focus programme.

Liverpool were two wins away from winning the English title for the first time in 30 years when the Premier League was postponed on March 13.

The league hopes to resume in mid-June and players are already returning to training while observing strict social-distancing rules.

Klopp has been in touch with Liverpool’s squad, but he admitted it had been hard to go so long without seeing them in person.

“I am quite proud how we as a society have dealt with it,” he said. “We are not perfect. We will always make mistakes but I think we have learned how connected we are to each other.

“I miss the boys the most because we created a group where all the people at Melwood (training ground) have a really good relationship and we became friends over the last four-and-a-half years.

“We saw each other with Zoom and other calls but it is still not the same. Going back to Melwood and doing the things we usually do is something I really miss.”

Source:  AFP

France defender Samuel Umtiti has picked up a calf injury in just the second session since Barcelona returned to training from the cornonavirus quarantine, the Spanish champions announced on Saturday.

Barca said that Umiti picked up an injury to his right calf during Saturday’s training session at the club’s Joan Gamper facility, but did not specify how long the 26-year-old would be out for.

Spanish media report that he will be unavailable for two or three weeks, so will likely be back in time for a potential June 20 restart for football in Spain as the country attempts to loosen coronavirus restrictions.

The 26-year-old Umtiti joined Barca from Lyon in 2016 after he helped France to the final of Euro 2016. He had further success with France in their successful 2018 World Cup campaign.

He played 16 times for the Catalan giants this season before play was suspended in March, and was twice injured earlier in the campaign, causing him to miss 10 matches between September and November last year.

Barca returned to training at the club’s facility on Friday after almost two months on lockdown in defence against a virus that has killed over 26,0000 in Spain.

Footballers in Spain restarted training following the announcement last week of a government plan that aims to end quarantine for professional players.

Individual training sessions are the first step to what La Liga hopes will be a return to action in June that will complete the 2019-20 season behind closed doors.

Source: AFP

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has been hospitalized in Amsterdam, and is in stable condition after undergoing a heart procedure.

Koeman wasn’t feeling well on Sunday after a bike ride, and felt chest pain before being rushed to hospital by ambulance. Fortunately, he did not suffer any serious harm as the surgery went well, and he should be able to return home on Monday.

The Dutch Football Association showed support for the 57-year-old on Twitter and said things are going better again.

Koeman was appointed Netherlands manager in 2018, and has enjoyed a successful spell in charge of his country so far. He took the Dutch National Team to the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League and guided them to qualify for Euro 2020, which has been postponed to next year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Presstv

France’s football league declared the season over on Thursday, with Paris Saint-Germain named as Ligue 1 champions.

PSG led the table by 12 points from Marseille when the season was suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak, which has gone on to kill more than 24,000 people in France.

The announcement by the LFP comes after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that “professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart” because of the risks linked to the pandemic.

“There is no ambiguity about this declaration. We needed to make a final decision about this season. We acknowledge that the 2019-20 season is over,” said LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour, in a conference call with reporters.

Ruling out any possibility of following the lead of the Netherlands, who decided to void their season without a champion, relegation or promotion, the LFP said a final table was arranged on the basis of average points per game.

Ten rounds of matches remained when the campaign was halted, although PSG and Strasbourg both had a game in hand.

As a result, Marseille and Rennes will go into the Champions League next season, while fourth-placed Lille will play in the Europa League.

Toulouse and Amiens, the bottom two, are condemned to relegation, with Lorient and Lens coming up from Ligue 2.

The identity of the other European representatives depends on whether the finals of the two domestic cups are ever played.

Large gatherings of people remain banned in France until September.

However, if the French government and UEFA accept, both cup finals could yet be staged in August with European places still up for grabs.

PSG were due to play Lyon in the League Cup final and Saint-Etienne in the French Cup final. If the games are played, Lyon and Saint-Etienne would qualify for the Europa League by winning.

Lyon — seventh in the table when the season was stopped — would otherwise miss out on European qualification for the first time in over two decades.

 AFP

Manchester United have been granted permission to install 1,500 safe-standing seats for use in a trial when Old Trafford is opened again to supporters.

The use of barrier seating has been approved following a change in regulations and a feasibility study carried out by the club.

Fans are not expected to be permitted to attend matches for at least a number of months with English football indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Even when matches do return, they will likely take place behind closed doors for the forseeable future.

However, United insist work can be carried out on the project whilst respecting social distancing guidelines to ensure it is ready for when fans can return.

“It may seem strange to talk about stadium plans at this time, but football and our fans will return when it is safe, and our preparations for that must continue in the background,” said United’s managing director Richard Arnold.

“This announcement is the latest step in what has been a long journey with our fans.

“We have listened to their feedback, in particular, the representations made by MUST (Manchester United Supporters’ Trust), and worked with Trafford Council to develop and approve this proposal.”

Arnold added that the barrier seats can enhance spectator safety in areas of the ground where fans persistently stand anyway and that the trial could be extended to other areas of the stadium.

“We will now move on to develop the installation, compliance and licensing plan for the trial, with a view to having the new seats installed for when we can welcome our supporters back to Old Trafford,” said Arnold.

All-seater stadiums have been mandatory in the top two tiers of English football since 1994/95, following recommendations on stadium safety made in the Taylor Report, which was commissioned after 96 people died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

But there has been a renewed push in recent years for safe standing to be brought into the top levels of English football with United set to follow fellow Premier League clubs Tottenham and Wolves in installing rail seating.

Source:  AFP

Chelsea players are in extensive talks with the club over a potential 10 percent pay cut amid the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Blues director Marina Granovskaia is leading the discussions on the club side with captain Cesar Azpilicueta representing the first-team squad.

If Chelsea can convince their players to take a 10 percent pay cut, it will save the club between 8 and 10 million pounds in the financial fight against the pandemic.

Premier League players have come under huge pressure to accept pay cuts or deferrals during the pandemic, but the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has refused a 30 percent pay cut proposed by the Premier League.

Source: Presstv

Barcelona have denied what the club describes as “serious and unfounded accusations” of corruption after a former vice-president claimed someone “had put their hands in the till”.

Emili Rousaud was one of six board members to resign on Thursday night as Barca continue to be embroiled in political crisis under their current president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

All six resigning board members called for the 2021 presidential elections to be brought forward in a joint letter published on Friday by the newspaper La Vanguardia.

In an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, Rousaud discussed the social media controversy that rocked the club in February, when Barcelona were accused of hiring a company called I3 Ventures to discredit opponents of Bartomeu online, including players like Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique.

“If the auditors tell us the cost of these services is 100,000 euros and we have paid one million, it means someone has put their hand in the till. I have no evidence and I cannot say who,” Rousaud told the programme RAC1 on Friday.

Barcelona responded with an official statement that read: “In the light of the serious and unfounded accusations made this morning by Emili Rousaud, ex-vice president of the club, in different interviews with the media, FC Barcelona categorically denies any activity that can be described as corruption and therefore reserves the right to any legal action that may correspond.”

Bartomeu terminated the club’s contract with I3 Ventures in February. He said the company had been hired only to monitor posts on social media and announced an internal audit to investigate any irregularity.

“The analysis of the monitoring services of social networks is being subjected to an independent audit by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which is still ongoing and, therefore, without any conclusions,” Barcelona’s statement added.

Rousaud had been appointed as a club vice-president in January and was seen as a leading candidate to succeed Bartomeu, who cannot stand again when the presidential elections come round next year.

Instead, Rousaud has quit, citing frustrations with the club’s management, along with fellow vice-president Enrique Tombas, as well as directors Silvio Elias, Josep Pont, Jordi Calsamiglia and Maria Teixidor.

Bartomeu has overseen a string of political spats in recent months being played out in public, with Messi also involved.

Messi reacted angrily in January to Eric Abidal, the club’s technical secretary, suggesting the players were to blame for the sacking of Ernesto Valverde and last month, the Argentinian criticised the club’s handling of negotiations with the squad over pay cuts.

Those remaining swiftly addressed the resignations from the board. “The resignations of the members of the board of directors announced over the last few hours have come about due to a reorganisation of the board put forward by president Josep Maria Bartomeu and which will be completed in the next few days,” the statement added.

Source: AFP

Bayern Munich have confirmed that players will return to training on Monday for the 1st time since the Bundesliga was suspended due to the coronavirus.

The Bavarians said in a statement that the training session will be held in coordination with government policy and the relevant authorities. It added that players will train in small groups and that all hygiene regulations will be strictly observed.

 The club also urged supporters to stay away from the training ground in order to further slow the spread of the deadly virus. Bayern’s return to training is in line with the German Football League’s policies.

 DFL had recommended that clubs should not train until the 5th of April. Germany’s top flight, which was initially halted on the 13th of March, will remain suspended until at least the 30th of April, with Bayern sitting atop, 4 points clear of Borussia Dortmund.

Source: Presstv