Serie A Calls Off Milan-Como Fixture in Australia | OneFootball

Milan-Como won’t take place in Perth after all, even though Serie A worked tirelessly on it for months, and president Ezio Simonelli had confirmed it last week. Instead, the League made a 180, finding some recent new requests unacceptable, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.

The negotiations ground to a halt after the AFC, the Asian Football Federation, and the Western Australia government, which would have contributed to organizing the event, asked for financial guarantees in case of a lawsuit and potential fines. The match was exploiting a legislative void regarding games moving abroad, which someone might object to.

Serie A had agreed to use Asian referees and other measures, but pumped the brakes after the economic demands. FIFA would have eventually rubber-stamped it, as they had no instruments to block it. As a result, Milan-Como will be played in San Siro, but not on February 9th, as the stadium will host the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

It’ll be postponed to the first available date in the back half of February. It won’t be hard to find, as neither team is playing in Europe. It’ll depend on when Inter will need to use the arena in the UEFA Champions League.

Milan were a major proponent of having the Como tilt in Australia, as they have deep ties with the local community. The League jumped at the opportunity to advertise the brand abroad. However, the hurdles eventually proved too challenging to overcome. The contest would have generated a €12M income. The Rossoneri expected to pocket €8M. Perth will be in the running as a future location of the Supercoppa Italiana. Saudi Arabia will be a no-go next year because of the Asian Cup.