Serie A

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. 

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.

Fiorentina owner Rocco Commisso has said the club will not try to stop talisman Federico Chiesa should he decide to join Juventus. 

"Chiesa must decide and, if he wants to leave, I won't stand in his way, as long as the amount is right ... If he wants to go to Juve, there are no vetoes for certain clubs," Commisso claimed. 

The players and coaching staff at Serie A side AS Roma have agreed to go without four months' salary to help the club through the crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Serie A has been suspended since March 9 and it is not known if or when the season will be able to re-start. 

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. 

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.