Coronavirus: No professional sport in England until 1 June at earliest

No professional sport, even behind closed doors, will be staged in England until 1 June at the earliest, the UK government has announced.

The government has published a 50-page guidance document detailing how England will begin to ease lockdown measures.

Step two of that plan – which will not be allowed to start before 1 June – includes “permitting cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact”.

The document states that reopening venues that attract large crowds such as sports stadia “may only be fully possible significantly later depending on the reduction in numbers of infections”.

More to follow.