Football legend Diego Maradona, the manager of struggling Argentinian club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata, has praised the decision to suspend relegation from the country's top division until 2022.

The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) confirmed the move on Tuesday as it cancelled the rest of the top flight season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The move spares Gimnasia from an almost certain drop to the second division, reports Xinhua news agency.

"It's not the end that we would have wanted, but it's a good decision," the 1986 World Cup winner told Argentinian newspaper Clarin.

"We were convinced that we were going to avoid relegation anyway. But this is reward for a group that has given everything for this club."

Gimnasia needed a strong showing in the Superliga Cup to have any chance or remaining in the top tier under Argentina's complex promotion-relegation system that considers results over a three-year cycle. The Cup competition was aborted last month after just one round.

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Argentina footballer Paulo Dybala has tested coronavirus positive for the fourth time in the last six weeks, according to media reports. This could come as a big blow for Juventus as Serie A had allowed players to return to individual training from May 4. "Spanish programme El Chiringuito stated Dybala has had four tests across the last six weeks and the latest one was positive again," the report in The Sun stated. Dybala was one of the first footballers to contract the virus along side Juventus teammate Daniele Rugani. In March, Dybala had taken to instagram to reveal he and his girlfriend both had tested positive.

Italy has been one of the worst hit countries in the world due to coronavirus pandemic as more than 200,000 people have been infected while in excess of 27,000 individuals have lost their lives so far. Italian sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora had earlier suggested that it would be easier to end the football season and if indeed the leagues do start, it should be a gradual process.

"It would be much easier to end the season immediately and the scientific community would agree," he wrote on his Facebook page. "Carrying on the world of football is a very important thing for our country, but we must do it safely. Remember when Serie A didn't stop? How many teams have gone into quarantine? The [Italian Football Federation] FIGC submitted a protocol and it was considered.

"Today we're at the end of April, we can't know for sure how the virus will evolve and how the rules will be respected, therefore we can't know when the season will resume.

"We've been working to resume training from May 18, but that doesn't mean the leagues will start up again," he added.

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