European soccer’s governing body UEFA on Monday said it had “reluctantly” approved the staging of a Spanish La Liga and an Italian Serie A match in the US and Australia respectively, despite fan protests.
“While it is regrettable to have to let these two games go ahead, this decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent,” UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement.
UEFA made its ruling after Spain’s La Liga agreed to move a game scheduled for late December between champions Barcelona and Villarreal to Miami, Florida.
Photo: AFP
Italy’s Serie A also decided to stage the encounter between AC Milan and Como on Feb. 8 next year in Perth, Australia, to avoid a clash with the Winter Olympics opening ceremony at the San Siro, but that sparked protests from European supporters groups, who branded the moves “absurd, unaffordable and environmentally irresponsible.”
In its statement, UEFA said that it had “reiterated its clear opposition to domestic league matches being played outside their home country,” but despite “the widespread lack of support that had already been raised by fans, other leagues, clubs, players and European institutions,” UEFA said that it had found no clear regulatory framework in FIFA’s statutes that would allow it to oppose the moves.
La Liga has been trying for years to host games in the US, home of its commercial partner Relevent Sports.
World governing body FIFA shifted its hitherto opposition to relocating matches, with a “working group” launched in May to revise the rules.
That opened the door to UEFA granting La Liga and Serie A the permission to branch out.
Serie A on Monday thanked “UEFA for recognizing the exceptional nature of this initiative.”
“It should also be emphasized that this is only one match out of 380 in the league: an extraordinary event, not a structural change to the schedule,” a Serie A statement said.
“I hope that approval from FIFA and the Australian Football Federation will complete the authorization process,” Serie A president Ezio Simonelli said.
“For us, a contingency linked to the unavailability of the San Siro Stadium has been transformed into an opportunity to please the many Italian football fans, who will have the chance to follow the match live in Perth, and also for the two teams and Italian football to increase their international visibility and fan base,” he said.
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