Football: English Premier League to resume on June 17

ANKARA The English Premier League (EPL) will resume with two games -- Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United and Manchester City vs. Arsenal -- on June 17, the football division announced on Thursday. "Premier League Shareholders today agreed to a new provisional restart date for the 2019/20 season of Wednesday 17 June, provided that all safety requirements are in place," EPL said on its website. The games will take place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Sadly, matches will have to take place without fans in stadiums, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches," said Richard Masters, Premier League CEO. Shareholders also approved a proposal that would see remaining matches broadcast live in the UK by the League’s existing broadcast partners: Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport and Amazon Prime, the statement said. The league was suspended in April due to the COVID-19. Liverpool were leading the division with 82 points in 29 games. The Reds were followed by Manchester City with 57 points in 28 matches. Leicester City were in the third place with 53 points in 29 games.