Milan-Como will not be played in Perth, the backtracking and the announcement

The Serie A match in Perth is skipped, the announcement was made in a joint note

In one joint note commenting on the matter, on behalf of the Government of Western Australia and the President of the Lega Calcio Serie A, it is explained that “the plans to host the first official match of a European Championship outside the national borders in Perth have been cancelled, following the agreement shared between the Lega Calcio Serie A and the Government of Western Australia. Both parties made this decision due to financial risks that could not be containedonerous approval conditions and last-minute complications beyond their control.”

“The proposed match – it continues – would have been the first time in which a high-level European Championship match, valid for the awarding of points, would have been played outside national borders, representing a unique opportunity for Western Australia to write international football history. The proposal had been approved by all 20 Serie A Football League clubs, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). However, the onerous additional conditions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to authorize the match could not be met without financial risk to the Government of Western Australia and the Lega Calcio Serie A.”

“The Government and Lega Calcio Serie A – continues the text – have explored every viable option to bring the historic match to Western Australia. Analysis of Perth’s bid reveals that, since April, it has already generated over $280 million in global media visibility, with the Australian city widely discussed by major international media in the US, UK, Italy, Indonesia and France. The Cook Government remains committed to securing major international events that bring an economic return to the State, helping to diversify the economy and to promote the tourism and hospitality sectors in Western Australia.”

“Our Government has worked closely with AC Milan and Lega Calcio Serie A, and we were confident that this first world event would take place in Perth. It’s disappointing, but it’s the right decision – we were not prepared to expose Western Australia to an unacceptable level of risk. This project has been 12 months in the making and we’ve done everything we can to get it done, but football politics, legal issues and bureaucracy have been an obstacle. There was no playbook to follow, as it had never happened before We undertook this project because of the huge economic benefits it would bring to our State and the contribution it would make to the growth of world football in Australia. Importantly, no payments have been made and Western Australia has suffered no losses in this process, as no deal has been finalized. host world-class events. Our relationship with Lega Calcio Serie A and AC Milan is stronger than ever and I would like to recognize their professionalism and trust in Perth and Western Australia throughout this process,” the statement said. Sport and Recreation Minister, Rita Saffioti.

Then comment on President of Lega Calcio Serie A Ezio Simonelli: “Despite the fact that the Lega Calcio Serie A had punctually and correctly followed the complex authorization process, which lasted several months, through the approval of the participating Clubs, the Lega Calcio Serie A Assembly, the FIGC Federal Council, the UEFA Executive Committee, the Australian Federation, and had even accepted very unacceptable sporting conditions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in the face of an escalation of further and unacceptable requests from the AFC in the last few hours towards the Australian Federation and consequently the Government of Western Australia and the Lega Calcio Serie A, it has become impossible to play the Milan – Como match in Perth on 8 February. We express regret for the outcome of this project, we continue to be firmly convinced that this conclusion is a missed opportunity in the project of growth of Italian football at an international level, which also deprives the many Serie A fans abroad of living the dream of attending a match of their favorite team live”.