'Indigestible!' - Bizarre reason why Milan's Serie A match with Como won't be played in Australia revealed

In a historic move, Serie A attempted to export competitive domestic football to international markets by hosting a league fixture between AC Milan and Como in Australia. The fixture was slated for February 2026 at the new Optus Stadium in Perth and was designed to capitalise on AC Milan’s global popularity and the growing interest in Italian football in the Asia-Pacific region. 

The move was necessitated by the unavailability of San Siro during the Winter Olympics period - which Milan are co-hosting in February - forcing the clubs to look for alternative venues. There was initial optimism from Lega Serie A and the clubs involved. In an interview, AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni had said, "One of the ideas we pursued was to go to Australia to promote Italian football, not to make a financial deal that doesn't exist. I haven't given up on this issue yet, but there are so many authorisations to obtain that I'm starting to get worried. If it falls through, it would be a missed opportunity for Serie A, because our goal is to make Serie A attractive around the world. 

"Serie A earns €200 million a year from international TV rights, the Premier League €2.2 billion, and La Liga €700-€800 million, which is explained by the fact that in recent years they've had two great players in Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The gap with the Premier League needs to be filled, but obviously there are many things to do, including new stadiums, because having beautiful, fully-filled stadiums is the foundation for achieving a certain level of television impact. I'm convinced that after San Siro, many other stadiums will be built in Italy."

The decision to host a domestic match outside the country had drawn significant criticism from all quarters, including Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and midfielder Adrien Rabiot. Lega Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo, however, stood firm amid public criticism, claiming that the move represented courage and long-term vision rather than opportunism. 

He had said: "If you ask an athlete if he wants to fly 20 hours to play a soccer match in his league, he’ll obviously say it’s crazy. If you ask a coach who’s playing for the Scudetto or Champions League qualification, he’ll also resist. But this is about whether we want the egg today or the chicken tomorrow. Anyone developing a sports property must think five to 10 years ahead. If we want to become an international league, we must have the courage to make unpopular decisions." 

His comments reflect Serie A’s broader strategy to expand its global footprint, particularly in Asia-Pacific markets, where fan interest in European football continues to grow.

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Serie A initially accepted several terms and conditions laid down by the AFC and the Australian FA as they agreed to breach their own rulebook and allow the game to be officiated by Australian referees, while the AFC demanded there be no promotion of the game as a domestic Italian fixture and no perimeter advertising of the competition.

But the league has now taken a major U-turn as Serie A President Ezio Simonelli has announced that the idea to host the game in Australia has now been called off. Simonelli said: "We had already accepted some requests that from a sporting point of view were unacceptable and indigestible. I’m talking about the referees in particular. But in order to bring the Italian championship abroad for the first time and be the first in this, we had digested this bitter pill. However, in the face of an escalation of further and unacceptable requests made by the AFC towards the Australian Federation and consequently the Government of Western Australia and Serie A, it has become impossible to play the match.

"While we regret the outcome of this project, we remain firmly convinced that this conclusion represents a missed opportunity in the growth of Italian football internationally, and it also deprives the many Serie A fans abroad of the dream of watching their favorite team play live."

The Rossoneri have had a bright start to their 2025-26 campaign and are currently trailing league leaders and arch-rivals Inter by just one point before Christmas. They will be back in action on Sunday in Serie A, as they take on Verona at home.