UEFA have delayed making a decision on whether to approve plans put forward by Serie A and LaLiga taking domestic fixtures outside of Europe.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) accepted a proposal in July taking a LaLiga fixture Stateside, while the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) want to move a Serie A match Down Under.
Barcelona‘s clash against Villarreal in December is the game which officials hope can be moved to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, whereas AC Milan‘s local derby against Como in February could be played in Perth.
Both proposals have been awaiting approval from FIFA and UEFA, with an official decision expected on Wednesday.
UEFA, the governing body of European football, however today announced they are delaying their decision on the controversial plans which have been met with backlash by both Italian and Spanish fans.
A statement read: ‘UEFA delay decision on matches abroad – The Executive Committee discussed the requests from the RFEF and FIGC to approve the playing of one domestic league match each outside the home country, in particular outside the UEFA territory.
UEFA have delayed making a decision on a proposal taking Barcelona’s December fixture against Villareal Stateside
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They are also yet to make a decision on Serie A’s plans to move AC Milan’s clash with Villarreal to Australia
LaLiga officials hope to move the Barcelona fixture to Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium
‘The committee acknowledged it as an important and growing issue but expressed the desire to ensure that it has the views of all stakeholders before coming to a final decision.
‘There are many issues to resolve and as the European governing body, UEFA has a responsibility to take all such factors into account.
‘As a result, no decision was taken today but UEFA will undertake a round of consultation with all stakeholders in European football – including fans.’
If eventually given the green light, the proposals would see top-five European league fixtures played outside of the continent for the first time ever.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin however last month declared he and the governing body were ‘not happy’ with the idea of playing games abroad.
‘Football should be played in Europe, fans should watch football at home, they cannot travel to Australia or the U.S. to watch their teams,’ he told Politico.
‘We will open this discussion also with FIFA, and with all the federations, because I don’t think it’s a good thing.’
It was a sentiment echoed by the Spanish Players’ Association (AFE) last month, who hit back at LaLiga’s proposal after a meeting with the league’s 20 captains.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin however last month declared he and the governing body were ‘not happy’ with the idea of Serie A and LaLiga fixtures being played outside of Spain and Italy
All 20 LaLiga captains hit back at the proposal through the AFE in August
Every single skipper representing their club, including Dani Carvajal of Real Madrid and Barcelona’s Marc Andre Ter Stegen, opposed the idea citing ‘the lack of dialogue and information provided’ by the RFEF.
A statement issued by the AFE read: ‘Backed by the captains of the LaLiga clubs, AFE opposes playing a league game outside of Spain.
‘The captains of every team met on Thursday to discuss the request, as announced by the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] earlier in August, for a game to be played outside of the country, which was submitted to UEFA and FIFA.
‘AFE requested a detailed report from the league in order to inform the players of the situation and hear their opinions. In its response, the league only informed us of the progress of the authorisation process.
‘In view of this situation, given the lack of dialogue and information provided, the initiation of a project promoted by La Liga and approved without any information by the RFEF is disrespectful to the players, as it involves changes at a sporting level in addition to travel outside the country as workers within the framework of a domestic league.’
Villarreal are currently scheduled to face Barcelona on December 21 but, according to The Athletic, the fixture may have to be moved in order to fit in with the NFL calendar. The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to play at the Hard Rock stadium on the same day.
However, the Spanish Cup’s round-of-32 stage is expected to take place between December 16 and December 18, which complicates matters.
AC Milan’s clash with Como is meanwhile in need of a venue, with the San Siro out-of-use at the beginning of February to host the beginning of the Winter Olympic Games.
UEFA’s final decision remains to be seen.
