Coronavirus: Portugal's Primeira Liga to return on June 4

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Lisbon, May 13: The Primeira Liga is to return to action on June 4.

Portugal's top flight has been on hold since March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country's Prime Minister Antonio Costa last month gave the go-ahead for the league to resume behind closed doors from May 30.

In a statement, Liga Portugal confirmed the 25th round of fixtures will take place from June 4.

It read: "Over the past few days, various entities have carried out successive alignment meetings so that the recovery can take place safely and with all the protection measures that mitigate the risks of returning to the activity.

"It is anticipated that this joint work by DGS [Directorate-General of Health of Portugal], FPF [Portuguese Football Federation] and Liga Portugal will serve as a model for the resumption of other economic activities, with the aim of this professional competition providing an example of the good practices that this pandemic imposes on us.

"In order to ensure that the stadiums are strictly inspected and medical tests are carried out on all professionals involved in the games and their organisation, the date of June 4, 2020 is set for the first game of the 25th round of the Liga NOS."

Porto were a point clear of Benfica at the top of the table when the season was suspended, and each club has 10 fixtures still to play.

There have been nearly 28,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Portugal, resulting in 1,163 deaths.