Human Interest

Paris Saint-Germain moved within a fingertip of being crowned Ligue 1 champion when the French league recommended to freeze the 2019-20 standings amid the COVID-19 crisis on Thursday, French sports daily L'Equipe reported. 

According to the newspaper, the LFP's board will ratify the recommendation on Thursday afternoon and effectively hand PSG its seventh title in the last eight years. The decision would mean that second-place Marseille and third-place Rennes would be in next season's Champions League with PSG. 

On Friday, May 8, the K League returns for the 38th season of top-division football in South Korea. Who among us can forget how the 2019 competition ended, with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors capturing the title while Australia international Adam Taggart finished top scorer with 20 goals? What, you don’t remember that?

That’s all poised to change this year with Pohang Steelers, Sangju Sangmu, Costa Rica’s Marco Ureña and Canada’s Doneil Henry ready to storm your TV sets with a bit of live sport on ESPN (at some admittedly ungodly hours).

FIFA medical committee chairman Michel D'Hooghe said soccer Tuesday that should not resume until at least September because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I speak as a medical doctor, I don't speak as an organizer of matches, but for the moment from my medical standpoint, I would be very skeptical," D'Hooghe told Sky Sports.

D'Hooghe warned that a quick resumption of soccer leagues could have serious consequences, as it's "not a matter of money -- it's life or death." He noted that social distancing would be highly difficult amongst players and fans.

MANCHESTER, England — Research from Germany and Italy suggests that footballers and other athletes face a particular risk of the coronavirus infecting their lungs, raising major questions over attempts to restart professional soccer.

The research, produced by Italian immunologists and lung specialists based at institutes in Berlin, Rome and Verona, suggests that due to strenuous exercise, elite athletes are more likely to inhale virus particles and direct them to the lower areas of the lung.

While Americans are still cooped up inside wondering when they'll be able to leave their homes and enjoy some fresh air, other countries are easing back into normalcy. 

This past weekend, Spain allowed children under the age of 14 to go outside and play for the first time in six weeks — with some restrictions of course. Children must be wearing masks and obeying social distancing rules, as well as being accompanied by one parent for one hour of play.  

A letter released on Monday from Kevin Payne, CEO/Executive Director of US Club Soccer, sets May 18 as the earliest possible return date of youth soccer in America. Obviously this date is subject to change as the coronavirus situation evolves, but it does give us an idea for when youth soccer will resume.

US Club Soccer also put out a tweet with a link to the letter on Monday afternoon.

After leaving prison in Paraguay earlier this month, former Brazil international Ronaldinho has finally broken his silence and said he was shocked to discover the Paraguayan passports delivered to his home were false and illegal. 

FIFA has proposed that teams should be allowed to make up to five substitutions per match, instead of the usual three, as a temporary measure to help cope with potential fixture congestion in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak. 

Football has been at a standstill since mid-March but many leagues and federations are still hoping to complete the season but to do so they would have to cram fixtures into a shorter period than usual once play re-starts.

Balls and pitches will need to be sterilized frequently when Spanish soccer returns in order to minimize the chance of players getting infected by the novel coronavirus, a leading doctor in the sport has said. 

Spanish soccer has been on hold since March 10 due to the pandemic and stakeholders have been drawing up plans to complete the current season in a bid to avoid catastrophic financial losses, although a date for a return is yet to be set. 

The Spanish soccer season, halted like most major sporting competitions due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, is unlikely to return until the summer, the country's health minister Salvador Illa said on Sunday.