Digest

SOCCER

Maldini and son test positive for COVID-19

Paolo Maldini

AC Milan and Italy great Paolo Maldini has tested positive for COVID-19.

Milan said that the 51-year-old, who is the Italian club's technical director, "became aware of contact with a person who subsequently tested positive for coronavirus and began to display symptoms of the virus himself".

Milan added that Maldini was "administered with a swab test" on Friday and the result came back positive.

Maldini retired from playing in 2009 after helping Milan to five European Cup/Champions League titles and seven Serie A championships.

The club said that Maldini's 18-year-old son, Daniel, who recently made his Serie A debut for Milan, also tested positive.

Milan said that both father and son "are both well and have already completed two weeks at home without contact with others. They will now remain in quarantine until clinically recovered, as per the medical protocols outlined by the health authorities."

Juve's Dybala joins Serie A infected list

Juventus forward Paulo Dybala has tested positive for COVID-19, the Italian club announced on Saturday.

He is the third Juve player to have been infected so far, after Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi, who were both confirmed positive earlier in March.

"Footballer Paulo Dybala has undergone medical tests, which have revealed his positivity to the coronavirus COVID-19," the club said in a statement.

"The player has been under voluntary home confinement since March 11, and he will continue to be monitored, and to follow the same regime."

"He is feeling fine and is asymptomatic," Juve added.

Soon after the official confirmation issued by the Turin-based club, Dybala wrote about he and his partner's health condition on Facebook.

"I just wanted to inform you that we have received the results for the COVID-19 test, and both Oriana and I have tested positive," the Argentine said. "Luckily we are in perfect conditions. Thanks for your messages."

At least 14 Serie A players have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to local media, with Sampdoria and Fiorentina the other clubs affected.

Italy last week overtook China as the country worst-affected by the highly contagious virus.

Former Real president dies from coronavirus

Lorenzo Sanz

Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz died on Saturday from the new coronavirus, his family said. He was 76.

Sanz had been in intensive care while being treated for the virus.

Sanz presided over Madrid from 1995 until 2000, leading the club to two European titles, a Spanish league title and a Spanish Super Cup crown. Under Sanz, Madrid ended a 32-year drought in Europe by winning its seventh European trophy in 1998.

Madrid said Sanz was survived by his wife, Mari Luz, and five children. More than 24,000 people have been infected with the virus in Spain, with nearly 1,400 deaths.

English Premier League weighs up June return

The English Premier League is tentatively targeting a resumption on June 1 with a view to completing the season over six weeks before making an August start to the 2020-21 campaign, the Sunday Telegraph reported on Sunday.

The report said the sketchy plan was a "best-case scenario" aimed at mitigating the heavy losses clubs are sustaining as they continue to pay wages while soccer remains shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On March 13, all elite-level soccer matches in England, including the Premier League, were suspended until April 4 with that stoppage subsequently extended until April 30.

The postponement of the Euro 2020 championship for a year, however, has cleared space in the calendar for domestic competitions to finish if the public health situation allows.

Player contracts, some of which end in June, could be an issue although world governing body FIFA has said it is looking into possible "dispensations".

Under the proposed plan, the Telegraph said, the Premier League and FA Cup competitions would resume with matches played behind closed doors.

BASKETBALL

NBA considers player salary cuts from April

The NBA plans to pay full salaries to players as scheduled on April 1 but could begin cutting wages to recover money from canceled games by April 15, ESPN reported over the weekend.

Citing a memo shared with clubs on Friday, the network's website said the NBA might soon begin reducing salaries based on a "force majeure" clause in its collective bargaining agreement with players.

The NBA halted its season on March 11 after Utah's Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. The pandemic has shut down sports leagues throughout North America.

The memo said the NBA will inform teams about its plans before the April 15 payment date. That's the day the league's regular season was set to end before the schedule was suspended by the outbreak.

Under terms of the NBA-union deal, the league can withhold a percentage of a player's salary for a catastrophic situation that forces games to be canceled, including a pandemic.

It's uncertain when, or if, the NBA might be able to resume its campaign or stage any playoffs.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

NFL draft reportedly moved to TV studio

Although the NFL's crown jewel of the offseason, the draft, will proceed as planned April 23-25, it will not happen in Las Vegas as originally scheduled, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.

The Times cited two anonymous sources who said the draft will be run out of a television studio－not in Vegas－with expected live cut-ins from various team headquarters throughout the league.

It is the latest move by the NFL in reaction to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Details of a revised NFL draft presentation have not yet been revealed publicly, other than the league previously announcing it will still hold the draft on its scheduled dates－only with no fans present and with all public events canceled.

No NFL player is known to have tested positive for COVID-19, but Saints head coach Sean Payton announced on Thursday that he has the virus.

Xinhua - Agencies