Plans for Serie A game in Australia cancelled over AFC conditions
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Dec 22 : A proposal to play a Serie A match between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, has been cancelled, the league and the government of Western Australia said on Monday, due to football sanctions and conditions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation.
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 the 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 in a statement.
The Italian FA approved Serie A's 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.
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Along with the practical reasons, Serie A saw the game in Australia as an opportunity to promote its product abroad and believes soccer should follow the example of other sports such as cycling, NFL and NBA.
The plans hit a stumbling block when the AFC first imposed conditions including that it be responsible for appointing match officials, although on December 18 Serie A had said the situation had been resolved.
The Serie A cancellation comes two months after LaLiga called off plans to play a league match between Barcelona and Villareal in Miami after criticism and opposition within Spain.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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