Human Interest

Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi said that both life and soccer have forever been changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 is responsible for the deaths of 370,000 people worldwide as of Sunday afternoon. It has also wreaked havoc with the sports landscape for much of 2020.

LaLiga, Spain's top-flight soccer league, is set to resume on June 11, albeit without fans in the stands. The first match on the slate will feature the Seville derby between Real Betis and Sevilla.

Valencia has criticized Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini for taking charge of his side's Champions League match against the Spanish side in March despite suffering from symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Gasperini told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday that he felt ill on the day before the last-16 second leg match in Valencia on March 10, which was played without spectators as northern Italy was then the epicenter of the virus in Europe.

He also confirmed he has since tested positive from an antibodies test.

Like all lower division soccer clubs, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Minneapolis City SC into dangerously uncharted waters. The club, which was founded in 2016, plays in the fourth tier NPSL. Back in late March, the season was cancelled and the team’s highly anticipated U.S. Open Cup first round match against Chicago FC United was postponed indefinitely.

Gladbach took care of business against Union Berlin on Sunday with a comfortable 4-1 victory. The biggest talking point of the match came in the 41st minute, when Alassane Pléa found Marcus Thuram for a well-placed header and the Frenchman quietly celebrated in a powerful way.

Alassane Pléa → Marcus Thuram@borussia_en's French connection strikes again pic.twitter.com/33rXCHv7nc

European football will continue its cautious return to play following the COVID-19 stoppage over the next week as a number of the continent's smaller leagues restart with some novelties and one team in serious trouble for breaking coronavirus rules. 

Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine are among countries which will again be able to enjoy league football, albeit in unusual circumstances with no spectators allowed at games. They join Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia and the Faroe Islands where play has already restarted. 

The year 2020 is the nightmare we can’t seem to wake up from. Outrage swept the country after a video captured four Minneapolis police officers arresting George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, on Monday. One of the officers held his knee to Floyd’s neck for nine minutes while he screamed “I can’t breathe.” Floyd died shortly after while in police custody.

The hosts for the 2020 ESPYs have been announced. This year, the ESPYs will shift its focus from outstanding athletic achievement to highlighting the impact athletes have made outside of sports. This shift in showing the world that there's more to athletes than just their performances on the field or court aligns with the current global situation we are in. While sports took a halt, many athletes did not.

Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird, USWNT standout Megan Rapinoe and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will be the voice of this years ESPYs.

At a time when the only thing people have to do is stay home and do nothing, Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi managed to get arrested at three in the morning Sunday on suspicion of rape.

The police and an ambulance were called to Hudson-Odoi’s apartment in West London at 3:35 a.m. Sunday morning after a report of an unwell woman, according to a police spokesman.

After beginning individual training at club facilities earlier this month, Spain moved one step closer to the resumption of LaLiga and Segunda División play after teams began training in groups of up to 10 players on Monday.

According to LaLiga president Javier Tebas, the league is still hoping to return to action on June 12, but clubs will need the approval of the government’s department of health before advancing from small groups to full training.

Regardless, Tebas said that LaLiga has taken inspiration from Germany’s successful return to the pitch.

Celtic have been declared Scottish champions for a record-equalling ninth successive season while Hearts were relegated after the clubs voted on Monday to end the Premiership season early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.