In a major blow to Western Australian football fans, the highly anticipated Serie A match between AC Milan and Como will not take place in Perth next year.
The match had been scheduled for February 8, with the match moving to Perth due to AC Milan’s inability to play at the San Siro Stadium during the Winter Olympics.
The clash had been billed as a chance for WA to make “international football history” as it would have been the first time a major European championship points match had been played outside its national borders.
AC Milan and French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, current team captain, will not play in Perth. (Reuters: Jennifer Lorenzini)
In a joint statement between the WA Government and Serie A, the parties said they had “exhausted all viable options” to bring this historic match to WA, but it was ultimately decided the cost would be excessive.
“The onerous conditions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to sanction this match could not be implemented without financial risks to the state government and Serie A, which could not be mitigated,” the statement said.
“Unacceptable conditions”
Speaking later on Tuesday, WA Minister for Sport and Recreation Rita Saffioti said the AFC’s conditions included removing any Serie A branding from the game and only using AFC-accredited referees.
“In addition to this, (the AFC) has stated that if any of these conditions are not met, Football Australia will be responsible, which could include financial sanctions or even sanctions against our national teams,” she said.
“We simply found it impossible to negotiate.
“For example, if someone had mistakenly put ‘Serie A’ in relation to the name of the match, the AFC would have the option to sue Football Australia, who has asked us to compensate them.”
Rita Saffioti had lobbied to bring AC Milan and Como to Perth. (Facebook: Rita Saffioti)
In the statement, Ms Saffioti said it was a difficult decision but ultimately the right one.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s the right decision: we were not prepared to expose Western Australia to an unacceptable level of risk,” she said.
“This project took several months and we did everything we could to make it happen, but football politics, legal issues and bureaucracy got in the way.”
The match was scheduled to be played at Perth Stadium. (ABC News: Cason Ho)
Serie A president Ezio Simonelli said in a joint statement that “an escalation of unacceptable demands” from the AFC had made the match in Perth “impossible”.
“While expressing our disappointment with the outcome of this project, we remain firmly convinced that this conclusion constitutes a missed opportunity in the growth of Italian football at international level, which also deprives the many Serie A fans abroad of the dream of attending a match of their favorite team in person,” he said.
No money lost, says WA government
Despite the government initially remains positive on the prospect of the match, doubts began to surface in early December.
At the time, Prime Minister Roger Cook described the deal as “complex” and stressed the need for the game to be financially beneficial to the state.
“It’s very complex, but we want to make sure we get value for money for the WA taxpayer,” he said.
“There needs to be a return to make sure we can justify that on a visitation basis, on a destination marketing basis and on a promotion basis for WA.”
Ms Saffioti said bidding for the game had not cost the government any money and claimed the buzz around Perth hosting the game had actually generated a significant financial benefit.
“It is important to note that no payments were made and WA did not lose out in this process as no agreement was reached.”
she said.
“We know Perth has been talked about like never before in major global media and European football circles over the past six months, which is great exposure for our state and our reputation for hosting world-class events.”
Plans for a Serie A match outside Europe have faced strong backlash from some groups, including the Football Supporters Association Australia (FSAA), which welcomed the cancellation.
AC Milan finished eighth in Serie A last season, their worst result in 10 years. (AAP Image: Stefan Gosatti)
“Proposals to move league matches abroad do not fundamentally correspond to the essential principles of football of integrity and sporting merit,” said FSAA president Patrick Clancy.
“We are not opposed to exhibition or friendly matches, but the export of league matches challenges the loyalty of the club’s supporters, undermines integrity and impacts player welfare.”
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