A Italian league match in Australia between AC Milan and Como will no longer take place following football sanctions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation, says Serie A.
The game had “reluctantly” been approved by Uefa in October alongside a La Liga match between Villarreal and Barcelona, which would have been held in Miami, but that game was also cancelled.
The match in Italy’s top flight, which was due to be played in Perth, Western Australia in February, would have been the first European league game staged abroad.
Financial risks and late complications meant it was “impossible” for the match to go ahead, said Serie A’s president.
“In the face of an escalation of further and unacceptable requests arrived in the last few hours by the AFC towards the Australian Federation and consequently the Government of Western Australia and the Serie A Football League, it has become impossible to play the Milan-Como match in Perth on 8 February,” Ezio Simonelli said.
The plans had initially faced difficulty because of conditions set by the AFC, such as having to use Asian match officials, but Simonelli had said this week the game would go ahead.
Como had previously made the case for playing games abroad, saying “sacrifice is essential” to ensure the “survival” of Serie A amid the financial dominance of the Premier League.
Football Supporters Europe (FSE) was critical of the plans, saying “one domestic match abroad is one too many”.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in August there are no plans to play an English top-flight match abroad.