AC Milan

Italy's Serie A clubs voted in a favor of restarting the season on June 13 during a general assembly on Wednesday, if the government allows. 

The Italian top flight has been suspended since March 9 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and, although the government has authorized teams to hold collective training sessions from next Monday, it has not yet decided if and when the championship can resume. 

The companies holding the broadcasting rights to Italy's top-flight Serie A soccer championship, including Comcast's unit SKY, have not paid the last installment of the 2019-20 season, which has been halted due to the coronavirus outbreak, three sources familiar with the matter said. 

The players and staff at Serie A clubs should be tested for coronavirus and then isolated in training camps when they begin preparing for the re-start of the season, the Italian football federation (FIGC) recommended on Wednesday. 

The recommendation will be among the guidelines drawn up by the FIGC's medical committee so that the season, on hold since March 9 because of the coronavirus outbreak, can safely restart, the FIGC said in a statement. 

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic trained with Swedish club Hammarby as the global soccer shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues, and a brief bout of coughing didn't appear to trouble him as he practiced his shooting. 

Former Sweden forward Ibrahimovic, who is his country's record goal-scorer and owns a stake in the top-flight Stockholm club, took a full part in the training session that had a mixture of bright sunshine and brief showers of snow and hail. 

LONDON — AC Milan and Inter Milan will play their first-ever virtual derby on Saturday after joining forces with digital sports broadcaster DAZN, the clubs said in a statement on Thursday.

With Serie A, like the rest of Europe's elite leagues, suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, fans will be able to watch the rival clubs go head to head on KONAMI’s popular soccer video game Pro Evolution Soccer 2020.

At the control will be Milan's Portuguese forward Rafael Leao and Inter's striker Sebastiano Esposito, selected for their self-confessed expertise on video games.

The Serie A season could be extended to September or October, the head of the Italian FA (FIGC) said on Sunday, warning that there could be an "avalanche of litigation" if it was not settled on the field. 

Serie A has been suspended since March 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed 15,887 lives in Italy, almost a quarter of the global death total. Several club presidents have suggested that the season should be called off. 

Italy's sports minister said he will propose extending the ban on all competitions to the whole of April in an effort to contain the coronavirus. The death toll from the coronavirus rose past 10,000 in Italy on Saturday, a figure that made an extension of a national lockdown almost certain. 

"Re-starting matches ... is unrealistic. Tomorrow I will propose to extend the ban on all sports competitions, of all levels and types, to the whole of April," Vincenzo Spadafora told daily La Repubblica in an interview. 

The Serie A season runs the risk of not finishing if more matches are postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, Inter Milan's chief executive Giuseppe Marotta said on Sunday. Inter's match at Juventus, which was to have been played later on Sunday, was one of five which were postponed by Serie A on Saturday. 

After Juventus’ shock 2-1 defeat to Verona on Saturday, Inter had the glorious chance of returning to the top of the Serie A table with a win on Sunday. But standing in the Nerazzurri’s way was rival AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.

Although Milan entered the match in 11th place, the club had been rejuvenated by the January arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimović. With Ibrahimović, Milan had gone undefeated in league play (three wins, two draws) and advanced to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia.