Coronavirus: Here's what happened in the sports world on Saturday

The latest on how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting sports around the globe:

• Staffing at Canada's gymnastics federation cut by 70 per cent
• ATP Tour chief not ruling out tennis' return this season
• Horse racing prepares for Monday resumption in France
• German soccer squad Dynamo Dresden put in quarantine
• Lyon men's, women's soccer teams test negative

70 per cent laid off at Canada's gymnastics federation

Canada's gymnastics federation laid off 70 per cent of its staff this week.

The organization's chief executive officer hopes the emergency funding announced Friday by the federal government allows him to recall people soon.

"It's harsh. This hasn't been a pleasant week," Ian Moss told The Canadian Press on Friday. "I would love to be able to phone some of our staff tomorrow and say `you're back."'

Canada's amateur sports system will receive nearly $52 million to alleviate the financial pain from the COVID-19 pandemic. Athletes whose monthly Sport Canada checks are affected by the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to 2021 also receive financial aid.

The Canadian Football League, soccer's Canadian Premier League and the Canadian Elite Basketball League have asked for millions in relief, but professional leagues were not eligible in the latest funding.

ATP Tour chief not ruling out 2020 return

Despite the growing possibility of a total wipeout of professional tennis this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, ATP Tour chief Andrea Gaudenzi is refusing to give up on 2020 just yet.

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown to contain the virus.

Wimbledon has been cancelled and the French Open postponed from its usual May start to September, while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

Many people, including 19-times Grand Slam winner Rafa Nadal, have voiced doubts about whether the sport can return in 2020 because players would need to travel around the world to compete in tournaments.

"It would be unwise to call it quits now," Gaudenzi told Reuters. "Nobody knows what will happen, we want to keep an optimistic overview.

The Tour is working on a time frame of six to eight weeks to decide on tournaments.

Horse racing in France set to resume Monday

The president of France Galop says horse racing will resume in France on Monday.

Edouard de Rothschild tweeted that "the resumption of races is accepted" and thanked the French government for allowing it to go ahead.

France is coming out of lockdown on Monday amid the coronavirus epidemic, with the nation confined since March 17.

Races will be held at the famed Longchamp Racecourse in western Paris, which hosts the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the first weekend of October, and at Compiegne in northern France.

Return of German soccer squad on hold after positive tests

Two players at German second division side Dynamo Dresden have tested positive for the coronavirus, putting on hold the club's planned return to soccer next weekend.

Dresden was to play Hannover away on May 17 when the league resumes after a two-month suspension, but the entire squad, coaching and supervisory staff must go into 14 days of quarantine at home.

The players, whom the team said are not showing symptoms of the virus, have not been identified. Their positive results for COVID-19 were found in a third wave of tests conducted at the club on Friday as part of the league's hygiene protocol to get soccer back underway in Germany.

One player tested positive for COVID-19 in the first wave of tests last weekend. He has been in quarantine since May 3. There were no positive cases in the second wave on May 4. The team returned to full training on Thursday.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had announced the day before that the top two divisions could resume without spectators. Teams were to spend time training in isolation before the games could resume. The Bundesliga and second division are due to return on May 16.

Lyon men's, women's teams test negative

All players in Lyon men's and women's teams have tested negative for the coronavirus, club president Jean-Michel Aulas said.

The French soccer club's squads were tested by team doctors at Lyon's training centre.

The men's French league was cancelled with 10 rounds of matches remaining amid coronavirus concerns, with Paris Saint-Germain declared champion and Lyon finishing outside the European places in seventh.

Lyon's women's team reached the French Cup semifinals before women's matches were cancelled.

Earlier this week, Aulas pointed to the fact the German Bundesliga is restarting as a reason why the league might reverse its decision to end games in France.

Lyon, meanwhile, still hopes to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League after beating Italian champion Juventus 1-0 in the first leg of their round of 16 match on Feb. 26. The return leg in Turin was postponed amid the virus outbreak.

Watford says at least 6 EPL teams oppose restart

Watford chairman Scott Duxbury says at least six of the 20 English Premier League clubs are concerned about the plan to use neutral stadiums to finish the season.

Duxbury says "there is no altruism in the Premier League" and that "there are 20 different vested interests, which sometimes align but more often than not work purely to protect each individual club."

Ahead of Monday's crunch meeting of topflight clubs, the Hornets have joined Brighton and Aston Villa in making clear their opposition to the current "Project Restart" plans.

With nine rounds left, Watford is 17th in the league and looking to fight off relegation amid a challenging backdrop brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.

Duxbury says "some clubs are happy to sign up to Project Restart because arguably there is only an upside in participating in this compromised format. It means Liverpool can win the title, other clubs can book their place in Europe next season or potentially fight their way up the table from a position of safety."