Spanish season unlikely to resume before summer, says health minister

Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi is congratulated for his goal by Barcelona's Spanish defender Gerard Pique (C) during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and Club Atletico de Madrid at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on April 6, 2019/AFP

The Spanish soccer season, halted like most major sporting competitions due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, is unlikely to return until the summer, the country's health minister Salvador Illa said on Sunday.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has been bullish about the need to complete the campaign in order to avoid collective losses of up to one billion euros ($1.08 billion) and has given three potential re-start dates: May 29, June 7 or June 28.