Off the Pitch

LONDON — Watford manager Nigel Pearson has warned that players lives could be in danger if the Premier League returns too soon during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"God forbid we have a fatality," the Times newspaper quoted him as saying on Saturday. "People are closing their eyes to the threat.

"Yes, we would like to restart it but it's got to be safe. We should be cautious. To ignore possibilities is foolhardy. It's about safeguarding people's health."

Hope Solo has never been shy about her love for her dobermans; she’s a proud owner of five of the majestic dogs. Sadly, tragedy struck one of her doggos this week when someone committed the “heinous act” of shooting her beloved Conan on Wednesday.

Solo announced the news on Instagram and Twitter on Thursday afternoon, saying Conan was in critical condition. She also thanked the Wilkes Veterinary Hospital in North Carolina and its staff for their aid. 

There’s something special, unique and even eerie about watching a professional soccer match with no spectators in an empty, cavernous stadium. 

For some, this ruins the experience. What’s football without the fans?

For others, this presents an opportunity.

Without noisy fans muddying the audio waves, a TV crew’s microphones are able to pick up almost every little sound coming from the pitch, be it profanities shouted at the refs or a coach yelling at his team to make a tactical adjustment.

Germany's plans to restart competitive soccer on May 16 have suffered an early setback after the entire team of second tier Dynamo Dresden were placed in a two-week quarantine following two positive coronavirus tests.

The Bundesliga 2 club announced on its website that tests taken on Friday had revealed two new positive cases and local health authorities had ordered the team into quarantine.

MANCHESTER, England — The chief executive of Premier League club Watford has said that plans to resume the season at neutral venues are unfair and that there could be enough clubs in opposition to stop the idea.

The Premier League's "Project Restart" envisages a return to play in June, once given the green light from government, with the remaining 92 matches held behind closed doors at neutral venues.

Scott Duxbury, CEO of Watford, says at least six clubs are against the plans — 14 of the 20 need to vote in favour for the proposals to be agreed.

The U.S. women's soccer team has filed to appeal a district court decision handed down last week that dismissed its claims for equal pay, a spokesperson for the team said on Friday.

The team suffered an unexpected blow to their high-profile case against their federation when the court threw out the players' claims that they were under paid in comparison with the men's national team.

With MLS players starting to return to their teams' respective training facilities, the league is considering a resumption of the season in June or July, with the possibility of all games in Orlando at the outset, the Washington Post reported.

According to the report, all initial games would be played without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the Orlando idea, a two-city plan also is a possibility.