World Sports News in Brief

Football: La Liga announces fixtures

Barcelona will recommence their bid to defend the Spanish title on Saturday June 13 away to Real Mallorca after a three-month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while Real Madrid will host Eibar on June 14, organisers La Liga announced on Sunday.

La Liga Santander - FC Barcelona v Real Betis - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - November 11, 2018 The match ball on display before the match. (Photo: Reuters)
La Liga Santander - FC Barcelona v Real Betis - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - November 11, 2018 The match ball on display before the match. (Photo: Reuters)

The season kick backs into action with a local derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on June 11 and there will be fixtures for the following seven days, with Barca hosting Leganes on June 16 and Real playing at home to Valencia on June 18.

* England's second tier Championship plans to resume play on June 20, more than three months after it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the English Football League (EFL) said on Sunday. Clubs are set to return to full contact training this week, with the government saying that competitive sport in England can resume from Monday behind closed doors provided strict conditions are met.

* Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea combined to score three goals as Borussia Moenchengladbach crushed Union Berlin 4-1 on Sunday to reclaim third place in the Bundesliga with five matches left. The Foals, who next travel to Freiburg, are third in the standings on 56 points, ahead of Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference. RB Leipzig, fifth on 55, take on Cologne on Monday.

* Athletic Bilbao manager Gaizka Garitano has renewed his contract until June 2021, the Spanish club said in a statement on Sunday. Garitano took charge of Athletic in December 2018 and steered them away from the relegation zone. He led them to the Copa del Rey final this season where they were due to play Real Sociedad, although the match was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

* American sprinter Bobby Morrow, who won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, died on Saturday at the age of 84, World Athletics said.

* French champions Paris St Germain have signed striker Mauro Icardi on a permanent deal from Inter Milan, the Serie A club said on Sunday. Argentine Icardi, 27, joined PSG in September on a season-long loan with a buy-out option.

* England forward Jadon Sancho capped a blistering individual performance with a second-half hat-trick which helped Borussia Dortmund to a 6-1 win at Paderborn on Sunday and kept alive their slim Bundesliga title hopes. The result left Dortmund second on 60 points from 29 games with five rounds of matches remaining, seven behind champions and league leaders Bayern Munich, while Paderborn remained rooted to the foot of the standings on 19 points.

* A select group of Sri Lanka cricketers, mainly bowlers, will return to training on Monday, amid efforts to restart the game after the coronavirus shutdown, the cricket board said on Sunday. Professional cricket has been suspended since March because of the pandemic, with Sri Lanka's home series against England and South Africa among its casualties.

* Atletico Mineiro and Ecuador international midfielder Juan Cazares has tested positive for COVID-19, the Brazilian club said on Sunday. The 28-year-old was the only player to be diagnosed with the virus following a series of tests on Atletico's players and staff over the weekend.

* The US Open tennis tournament is considering holding the Grand Slam in front of limited or possibly no fans, local media reported on Saturday. With the tournament still on schedule, the United States Tennis Association, which oversees the annual event, said holding this year's US Open with limited fans or without fans remains a possibility.

Reuters, Xinhua