Uefa ‘reluctantly’ approves games played abroad

Uefa president Alexander Ceferin says the “regrettable” decision to allow two European league matches to be played abroad is “exceptional” and insists it “will not set a precedent”.

La Liga clubs Villarreal and Barcelona are now set to face each other in Miami in December in what would be the first European league fixture to be played abroad.

Then in February, AC Milan’s Italian Serie A match against Como will be played in Perth, Australia.

Uefa, European football’s governing body, has stressed its “clear opposition” to the plans, but “reluctantly” approved them because there is no legal framework to stop it.

“League matches should be played on home soil, anything else would disenfranchise loyal match-going fans and potentially introduce distortive elements in competitions”, said Ceferin.

“Our consultation confirmed the breadth of these concerns. I would like to thank the 55 national associations for their constructive and responsible engagement on such a sensitive issue.

Fans ‘ group Football Supporters Europe (FSE) says the decision to play the two games abroad could inflict” long-lasting harm “on the sport, and wants tougher rules to prevent it happening again in the future.

” FSE will continue to stand firmly with fans in Spain and Italy in resisting these damaging proposals, “it said.

” Together with our members in these countries, we are looking into every possible option to counter these plans.

“By forcing through these matches, La Liga and Serie A risk undermining their own history and long-term success while inflicting long-lasting harm to football in Europe – and beyond.

Uefa says it consulted stakeholders and found” widespread lack of support “for league matches to be played abroad, echoing concerns raised by fans, other leagues, clubs, players and European institutions.

But it said world governing body Fifa’s regulatory framework is” not clear and detailed enough “for it to block the plans.

Last year, Fifa established a working group to examine the effects of playing intense domestic matches abroad.

La Liga stated last year that it wanted to watch Barcelona face Atletico Madrid in Miami, but decided against it due to time constraints.

Barcelona also intended to play a league game against Girona in Miami in 2019, but the idea was voided due to opposition from the Spanish football association and its players’ union.

In recent years, there have been other one-off matches held abroad, such as the Italian Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup.

Premier League Chairman Richard Masters stated in August that no top-flight matches for England would be played abroad.