Serie A soccer game between AC Milan and Como at Perth Stadium called off
Plans for Italian giants AC Milan to play Como in a Serie A match at Perth Stadium have been shelved. (Getty Images: Marco Canoniero)
In short:
An Italian league game between AC Milan and Como in Perth on February 8 will not go ahead, with sanctions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation being blamed for the cancellation.
The WA government says every viable option was exhausted in a bid to have Perth host the fixture, which would have been the first time a major European league had played a game for points outside its home region.
What's next?
The decision has been described as "disappointing, but the right call" by WA's sport minister, and the government says it remains committed to securing world-class events for the state.
In a blow to soccer fans in Western Australia, the much-anticipated Serie A game between AC MIlan and Como will not go ahead in Perth next year.
The match had been pencilled in for February 8, with the game moving to Perth due to AC Milan being unable to play at the San Siro Stadium while the Winter Olympics were on.
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 league game for points was played outside its national borders.
AC Milan and French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, the team's current captain, will not be playing in Perth. (Reuters: Jennifer Lorenzini)
In a joint statement between the WA government and Serie A, the sides said they had "exhausted every viable option" to bring the historic game to WA, but ultimately, it was decided the cost would be excessive.
"The onerous conditions from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to sanction the fixture could not be implemented without financial risks to the State Government and Serie A that could not be mitigated," the statement read.
'Unacceptable conditions'
Speaking later on Tuesday, WA Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti said the AFC's conditions included the removal of any Serie A branding from the game, and that it only use AFC-accredited referees.
"On top of that, [the AFC] said that if any of these conditions aren't met then Football Australia would be liable, which could include financial penalties, or even penalties against our national teams," she said.
"We just found it impossible to negotiate.
"For example, if mistakenly, someone had put 'Serie A' in relation to the name of the game, there'd be an opportunity for AFC to pursue Football Australia, who asked us to indemnify."
Rita Saffioti had been pushing to bring AC Milan and Como to Perth. (Facebook: Rita Saffioti)
In the statement, Ms Saffioti said it was a tough decision but ultimately the right one.
"It's disappointing, but it's the right call — we were not willing to expose Western Australia to an unacceptable level of risk," she said.
"This project has been many months in the making, and we did everything we could to get it across the line, but football politics, legal issues and bureaucracy have got in the way."
The game was scheduled to be played at Perth Stadium. (ABC News: Cason Ho)
Serie A president Ezio Simonelli said in the joint statement, "an escalation of further unacceptable demands" by the AFC had made playing the game in Perth "impossible".
"While expressing disappointment at the outcome of this project, we remain firmly convinced that this conclusion is a missed opportunity in the growth of Italian football at an international level, which also deprives the many Serie A fans abroad of the dream of attending a match of their favourite team in person," he said.
No money lost, WA government says
Despite the government initially remaining positive about the prospect of the game going ahead, doubts started to surface in early December.
At the time, Premier Roger Cook described the deal as "complex" and stressed the need for the game to be financially beneficial for the state.
"It's very complex, but we want to make sure that we deliver value for money for the WA taxpayer," he said.
"There has to be a return to make sure we can justify this on the basis of visitation, on the basis of destination marketing, and on the basis of promoting WA."
Ms Saffioti said the bid for the game had not cost the government any money, and claimed the buzz around Perth hosting the game had in fact generated a significant financial benefit.
"Importantly, no payments were made, nor has WA lost out through this process, as no agreement was reached,"she said.
"We know Perth has been talked about like never before across major global media outlets and European football circles for the past six months, which is great exposure for our state and our reputation for hosting world-class events."
Plans for the Serie A match outside of Europe were met with staunch backlash from some groups, including Football Supporters Association Australia (FSAA), who welcomed the cancellation.
AC Milan finished eighths in Serie A last season, it's worst finish in 10 years. (AAP Image: Stefan Gosatti)
"Proposals to move domestic league matches abroad do not fundamentally align with the essential football principles of integrity and proper sporting merit," FSAA chair Patrick Clancy said.
"We are not opposed to exhibition or friendly matches, but exporting league matches defies the loyalty of club fans, impinges on integrity and impacts player welfare."