The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:
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The ownership of the Orlando Magic have announced a $50,000 donation to a Central Florida food bank and have teamed with Papa John’s to offer a way for their fans to support food-insecure families as well.
The DeVos family announced the donation to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Through May 20 fans can also see 25% of their online-order price at Orlando-area Papa John’s restaurants donated to the food bank as well.
Magic CEO Alex Martins says ”this has been a focus for us over the years, and now more than ever this remains a priority. We will continue to work together to make sure we assist those most vulnerable.”
The DeVos family previously announced a $2 million compensation fund for Orlando Magic, Amway Center, Lakeland Magic and Orlando Solar Bears hourly workers for games and time missed during the COVID-19 suspension of seasons. Several Magic players and Magic coach Steve Clifford have also championed various charitable causes during the pandemic.
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Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has urged his players to accept a pay cut amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Al-Khelaifi says in an interview with RMC radio that he is ”expecting them to make an effort for the club. They know their responsibilities.”
Players on French clubs are all on temporary layoffs. That means a small cut in pay of 16 percent and the state picks up a portion of the rest.
Players at clubs in other countries have taken large pay cuts amid the uncertainty.
PSG’s squad includes world-class players Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani.
Al-Khelaifi says ”our wage bill is of substantial volume” and ”we risk suffering colossal losses” at the end of the season.
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UEFA vice president Sandor Csanyi says playoffs to decide the last four places in the postponed European Championship could be played in October or November.
The 16-nation playoffs have twice been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Euro 2020 has been delayed one year.
Csanyi tells Hungarian media that October and November are options while there is uncertainty about when soccer can resume in Europe. All 55 UEFA member countries are currently scheduled to play Nations League games in October and November.
Hungary was drawn to play at Bulgaria in the single knockout Euro 2020 playoffs. The winner will host either Iceland or Romania with a place in the final tournament at stake.
Hungary is one of 12 host nations of Euro 2020.
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The deputy head of Germany’s national disease control center has cautioned against coronavirus testing for soccer players in order to restart the league.
Regular testing of players and team staff is a key element of a plan to resume German soccer in empty stadiums next month.
Robert Koch Institute vice president Lars Schaade says he doesn’t ”see why certain sections of the population … should be routinely screened.”
Schaade says he would prefer testing to be focused on people who show symptoms or who are linked to an outbreak of the virus.
Clubs are eager to resume the Bundesliga to avoid financial losses. They are negotiating a tricky political landscape and opposition from some fan groups.
The governors of German states Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia have called for a restart of soccer on May 9 but not all states are on board.
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The second edition of FIA’s Motorsport Games has been postponed until next year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The multi-disciple event between various nations was scheduled for Oct. 23-25 at the Circuit Paul Ricard near designated host city Marseille. The new dates are Oct. 22-24 next year at the same place.
The next games are set to see the introduction of rally and historic motorsport events.
Paul Ricard also hosts a Formula One race. It is scheduled for June 28 but widely expected to become the 10th of 22 races this season to be called off amid the virus outbreak.
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South Korea’s professional baseball league has decided to begin its season on May 5.
The games will be played without fans until the risk of infection from the coronavirus is gone.
The league plans to maintain a 144-game regular-season schedule but has decided scrap its all-star game and shorten the first round of the playoffs from a best-of-five to best-of-three series.
The KBO says it could shorten the regular season if infections erupt. The league will advise players to wear face masks in locker rooms and require them to download smartphone apps to report their daily health status to league officials.
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More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
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