More European leagues set to resume

May 29, 2020 06:00 am

European football will continue its cautious return to play over the next week, following the Covid-19 stoppage, as a number of the continent's smaller leagues restart.

Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine are among the countries which will again be able to enjoy league football, albeit with no fans allowed at games.

They join Hungary, Czech Republic, Estonia and the Faroe Islands where play has already restarted. So far, Germany's Bundesliga is the only one of the big five leagues to have resumed.

The leagues will use similar health precautions which include regular testing of players, a limit of around 300 people allowed in the stadium and bans on pre-match handshakes, mascots and team photographs.

Meanwhile, the biggest setback has been in Austria where league leaders LASK had a six- point deduction, after they admitted to breaking coronavirus rules by prematurely resuming full training sessions.

The punishment means LASK, who had 27 points from 22 games before the decision and were three clear of Salzburg, drop to second place, three points behind their rivals, one point ahead of Rapid Vienna. - REUTERS