2019 Soccer news, photos, stats, schedules, standings and videos

• Liverpool blasted in virus furlough move, players in £200m wage cut warning4 April 2020, 8:05 pm
  Ex-players blasted Liverpool for their move to furlough non-playing staff during the coronavirus pandemic on Saturday as Premier League stars warned of a £200 million (5 million) shortfall in government coffers if 30 percent wage cuts were introduced. The Premier League leaders said they would top up the public money made available from the government to ensure staff on furlough received their full salaries. It follows similar moves by Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich to take advantage of the scheme, under which employers can claim for 80 percent of furloughed employees' wages.
  
• Premier League stars warn of £200 million shortfall in virus wage cut row4 April 2020, 7:05 pm
  The Professional Footballers' Association warned on Saturday of a £200 million (5 million) shortfall for British government coffers if a sweeping cut in wages was introduced for Premier League players to offset the financial fall-out from the coronavirus. "All Premier League players want to, and will, play their part in making significant financial contributions in these unprecedented times," said a PFA statement. "We welcomed the opportunity to discuss this with the Premier League today and we are happy to continue talks."
  
• Liverpool under fire over coronavirus furlough move4 April 2020, 6:16 pm
  Ex-players blasted Liverpool for their move to furlough non-playing staff on Saturday as Premier League clubs held talks over possible pay cuts for first-team staff due to the coronavirus crisis. It follows similar moves by Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich to take advantage of the scheme, under which employers can claim for 80 percent of furloughed employees' wages. "(Manager) Jurgen Klopp showed compassion for all at the start of this pandemic, senior players heavily involved in @premierleague players taking wage cuts.
  
• Liverpool furlough move draws stinging criticism from ex-players4 April 2020, 5:36 pm
  Liverpool on Saturday became the latest Premier League club to put some of their non-playing staff on furlough during the coronavirus shutdown, drawing fierce criticism from former players. The Premier League leaders, who in February announced pre-tax profits of £42 million ( million) for 2018/19, will top up the public money received from the government to ensure the affected staff receive their full salaries. The announcement came as Premier League clubs met with representatives of players and managers to discuss possible wage cuts for first-team staff.
  
• Tajikistan soccer season opens, Istiklol wins Super Cup4 April 2020, 5:08 pm
  Tajikistan started a new soccer season on Saturday, joining a small group of countries around the world where play has continued despite the coronavirus pandemic. Istiklol Dushanbe retained the Central Asian nation’s season-opening Super Cup on Saturday with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Khujand. Professional soccer is only continuing in a few countries around the world, with Belarus, Nicaragua and Burundi among the holdouts, attracting interest from foreign fans and international gambling markets.
  
• The Latest: Verlander donating weekly check to virus relief4 April 2020, 3:33 pm
  Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander says he will donate his weekly paycheck during the coronavirus shutdown to organizations that are helping with relief efforts. Verlander and wife Kate Upton made the announcement Saturday in an Instagram post. The AL Cy Young Award winner is among a group of major leaguers getting ,775 a day for 60 days, a total of 6,500.
  
• Fear grips Swedish soccer as virus delays start of season4 April 2020, 3:24 pm
  Saturday was supposed to mark the beginning of a new Swedish soccer season, fuelled by the prospect of big broadcasting revenues from a new domestic TV deal and expectations of another tight title race to match last year’s dramatic finale. Then, in two months' time, Sweden's national team was supposed to be playing in the European Championship, with confidence high two years after a run to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 1994. Instead, the rapidly spreading coronavirus has forced a two-month delay to the Allsvenskan campaign - the “early June” start date will now be viewed as optimistic by many - the cancellation of the Euros, and led to some Swedish clubs fearing they might soon go out of business.
  
• Spanish league and players still far apart on salary cuts4 April 2020, 3:01 pm
  The Spanish league and players are still far apart on the size of the salary cuts they need to take to help reduce the financial impact caused by the coronavirus outbreak, with the footballers saying the organization wants them to carry nearly half the total losses. The league and the players' association have been in talks to try to find ways to mitigate losses that could reach nearly 1 billion euros (module.08 billion) if the season cannot be restarted because of the pandemic. The players have said they are willing to reduce their salaries, but not as much as the league or the clubs want.
  
• Row grows as Premier League players can't agree wage cuts4 April 2020, 2:35 pm
  English Premier League players rejected a move Saturday by clubs to cut their wages by 30% during the coronavirus pandemic, escalating a bitter public row as their union claimed the government would lose out on more than 200 million pounds (around 5 million) in tax. “This would be detrimental to our NHS (National Health Service) and other government-funded services,” the Professional Footballers’ Association said. The strident stance from the union came after further talks Saturday involving clubs and the league as Liverpool became the latest Premier League side defying political anger by using a government bailout scheme.
  
• Xavi donates 1 mn euros to Barcelona hospital4 April 2020, 2:21 pm
  Former Barcelona and Spain star Xavi Hernandez and his wife have donated one million euros (module.08 million) to the city's Hospital Clinic to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The former World Cup winner and two-time European champion with Spain is currently in charge of Al-Sadd in Qatar and turned down an approach from Barcelona in January after the club sacked Ernesto Valverde.
  
• Belgian federation in UEFA talks over end to its season4 April 2020, 2:07 pm
  The Belgian Football Association (URBSFA) announced on Saturday that it is working with UEFA toward a "constructive" solution regarding the premature end to the Belgian championship. On Thursday, the Belgian Pro League recommended that the season be declared finished due to the coronavirus pandemic with the present table accepted as final. It became the first European league to propose such a measure, though others could follow.
  
• Serbia striker Prijovic arrested for flouting virus curfew4 April 2020, 1:03 pm
  BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) -- Serbia soccer player Aleksandar Prijovic has been arrested for flouting the curfew imposed to curb the coronavirus spread.
  
• Cheltenham defends decision to proceed with horse race event4 April 2020, 11:32 am
  Cheltenham Festival organizers have defended their decision to go ahead with the meeting last month after fears were raised that the mass gathering of people for the annual horse racing event helped to spread the coronavirus more widely around Britain. Tens of thousands of people attended the four-day event in southwest England as no government social distancing measures were in place at the time. Sporting events were being canceled elsewhere in Europe at the time but it was only as the Festival was reaching its conclusion that the English Premier League was halted.
  
• Premier League players' 'backs against wall' over coronavirus, says Rose4 April 2020, 11:17 am
  Newcastle defender Danny Rose is willing to contribute a portion of his wages to those fighting the coronavirus outbreak but says Premier League players feel their "backs are against the wall". The Premier League said on Friday that clubs would consult players over a combination of pay cuts and deferrals amounting to 30 percent of their annual salary. Newcastle, where Rose is on loan, and his parent club, Tottenham, are among clubs to have furloughed some non-playing staff during the crisis, prompting criticism as players continue to receive their full salary.
  
• UEFA lifts Saturday afternoon TV blackout for England, Scotland4 April 2020, 10:32 am
  UEFA has lifted a ban on the live screening of Premier League games kicking off at 3:00 pm in England and Scotland for the rest of the season. The move by European football's governing body is seen a step towards restarting some domestic competitions in Britain behind closed doors in order to complete the season, interrupted by the coronavirus crisis. A UEFA statement read: "UEFA has lifted the 'blocked hours' protection granted to the UEFA member associations for England and Scotland for the remainder of the 2019/20 football season, following requests from the relevant national associations as a result of measures taken in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic."