Madrid, April 27: Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa has said that the domestic competition La Liga may not start before summer this year. There has been no football action in Spain since early March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the health minister has refused to provide any time frame for the restart of the competition.

"I cannot say if football is going to be able to restart its activity before summer. It would be imprudent of me to offer a definitive view," Goal.com quoted Spain's health minister Illa as saying.

Teams in La Liga have been given a go-ahead to returning to training. This decision was reached in a meeting last weekend between Spain's National Sports Council (CSD), the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), and La Liga. Serie A Clubs Allowed to Resume Individual Training of Players from May 4 Amid Coronavirus Pandemic.

There have been various media reports suggesting the start of La Liga by the second week of June. However, the health minister's statement has quashed the reports as of now.

Before the suspension of La Liga, Barcelona had moved to the top spot in the standings. Spain has been severely hit by the pandemic, with the country suffering over 23,000 deaths. Currently, all sporting action across the world has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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