Monday 13 April 2020 14:56, UK
The president of the Italian Football Federation says he wants players to be tested for coronavirus by the end of April, allowing clubs to return to training in May.
Serie A has been suspended since March 9 due to the global pandemic. Italy has been one of the worst affected countries, with nearly 20,000 deaths and over 150,000 confirmed cases, according to the latest official figures.
No return date has yet been set for Italy's top flight, but Gabriele Gravina told Sky in Italy: "The leagues will restart. They will start when the health of athletes and staff will be guaranteed maximum protection.
"We're in touch with the Minister [of Sport Vincenzo] Spadafora and with the Ministry of Health. The [Italian Football] Federation will have an important meeting of its scientific-technical committee on April 15 that will also be attended by professionals, scientists and experts of the industry.
"We will underline a procedure, we will forward it to the leagues and they will make sure that it will be rigorously respected by the athletes.
"I hope that we will restart by the end of April with the application of these procedures that impose, first and foremost, tests to guarantee all the protagonists are negative [to coronavirus].
"Then, the actual procedure of preparation and training will get underway. That is an omen to start as soon as possible with our league [Serie A]."
Gravina added that he believes football needs to return to "send a message of hope" to the Italian public.
"All together, we need to try and send a message of hope to our country. Football has always proved that, not just in this occasion," he said.
"Just think about what happened on the occasion of the last few earthquakes that devastated our country. Football always marked a moment of hope and recovery.
"I'm hoping this can happen again. It's a wish, but I think that if everyone pulls together, we can make it."
