Serie A president reveals exactly why Australia game was scrapped: “Seems a bit unfair”

Lega Serie A president Ezio Simonelli has confirmed that AC Milan’s home game against Como will in fact be played at San Siro.

It was months ago now that the possibility of playing a Serie A game all the way in Australia first came about, due to the fact that a game cannot be played at San Siro while the Winter Olympics are on. Everything seemed to be in place, but then things hit the rocks a couple of weeks ago.

Pressure from FIFA and the demands of the Asian Football Confederation saw everything come crashing to a halt at the final hurdle. Yet, before the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final between Napoli and Milan last night, Simonelli claimed that the game will happen in Perth.

Simonelli breaks his silence

Recently a statement from the parties involved confirmed the idea has been scrapped. Simonelli spoke to Radio Anch’io Sport – a Rai Radio 1 programme – and also talked about the plans for Milan-Como to be played in Australia now being scrapped. His words were relayed by MilanPress.

“I obviously don’t want to get into a controversy with the Minister of Sport, but to call it superficiality when our offices have been in constant dialogue with the top brass of European and world football for months seems a bit unfair to all the people who worked on this project. It’s a bit like exploiting what happened to say what the public wants to hear.

“I’d like to make it clear to our listeners that the Lega is a media company with a turnover of €1.5bn, and one of its goals is to maximise revenue for the clubs while also promoting our football worldwide. In this regard, given the unavailability of San Siro, the League, in keeping with its mission, has sought alternative solutions.

“I understand – as a fan, I understand, and I offer my full sympathy – that playing the match 13,000 km away from us is quite unusual and detrimental to the fans, but this was the choice of the clubs involved, not the Lega, which submitted a series of proposals. The Australian one was by far the most advantageous.

“What happened is clear enough for anyone who has read the Western Australian government’s statement. The Lega accepted conditions that were difficult to accept, such as the refereeing. When they were accepted, the AFC upped the ante, imposing even more stringent conditions, demanding indefinite and undefinable guarantees from the Western Australian government, which then asked the League to indemnify them.

“Faced with this indefinable financial guarantee, claiming that any damages resulting from the organisation of the match were unfounded, the request was clearly unfounded. At that point, the Lega offices informed the Australian government that the indemnity was not being offered, and the government withdrew its offer. It wasn’t the Lega that withdrew.

“Creating the fixture list, as you know, is one of the hardest things to do in the League, and we have Andrea Butti there, who is a master at making connections. I can assure you that between cups and TV choices, it’s not easy to find these connections. If that change wasn’t made, it’s because it was objectively difficult to do so.

“At this point, the match will be played at San Siro on the first available date, also considering that Milan has exited the Coppa Italia and the stadium will be more available.

“We have to wait until January 31st, which is the date on which the Champions League play-offs will also be decided, to determine when San Siro will be free for Inter. And the match will be scheduled on one of those Wednesdays, as soon as possible.”