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.

Fifa set up a working group last year to look at the impact of playing competitive domestic matches overseas.

Last year, La Liga said it wanted to hold Barcelona v Atletico Madrid in Miami before dropping the idea because of time constraints.

In 2019, Barcelona also planned to stage a league match against Girona in Miami, but the idea was scrapped after opposition from Spain’s football association and its players’ union.

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

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in August there are no plans to play an English top-flight match abroad.