The proposal to play a Serie A match between Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, has been cancelled due to football sanctions and conditions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The game was set to become the first major European domestic league fixture to be played outside its home country but will now not go ahead because of the financial risks and last-minute complications.
“In the face of an escalation of further and unacceptable requests arrived in the last few hours by the AFC towards the Australian federation and consequently the government of Western Australia and Serie A Football League, it has become impossible to play the Milan-Como match in Perth on 8 February,” Serie A president, Ezio Simonelli, said on Monday.
The Italian Football Association approved a request to move February’s fixture due to the San Siro’s unavailability as it hosts the opening ceremony of the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, and Uefa reluctantly cleared the match in October. Along with the practical reasons, Serie A saw the game in Australia as an opportunity to promote its product abroad and believes football should follow the example of other sports such as cycling, NFL and NBA.
The plans hit a stumbling block when the AFC imposed conditions including that it be responsible for appointing match officials, although on 18 December Serie A said the situation had been resolved.
The Serie A cancellation comes two months after La Liga called off plans to play a league match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami after criticism and opposition within Spain.
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