Milan star stunned at 'absurd' and 'crazy' plans to play Serie A match in Australia

Martin Macdonald

• 8 Oct 2025 11:01 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Milan star Adrien Rabiot has reacted negatively to the plans to play Serie A fixture Milan versus Como in Australia, calling them "absurd".

As part of a major money-making proposal, there are plans from La Liga to play Villarreal versus Barcelona in the United States and from Serie A to play Milan versus Como in Australia.

Fans have naturally slammed the proposals, believing they take away from the integrity of the competition as there will now be uneven home and away fixtures.

UEFA announced opposition to the plans, but ultimately passed the buck to FIFA, who will hold the ultimate decision to allow or cancel the foreign fixtures.

"UEFA has today reiterated its clear opposition to domestic league matches being played outside their home country," the governing body's statement began.

"After the meeting of its Executive Committee in Tirana last month, UEFA undertook further consultations with stakeholders to assess the extent of the implications of the issue, following the applications it received from the Spanish and Italian national football associations.

"That consultation confirmed the widespread lack of support that had already been raised by fans, other leagues, clubs, players and European institutions around the concept of domestic league matches being relocated abroad."

Despite this, UEFA has announced that the Villarreal-Barcelona and Milan-Como games will be permitted to go ahead due to a lack of official regulatory FIFA framework on the subject.

"However, given that the relevant FIFA regulatory framework - currently under review - is not clear and detailed enough, the UEFA Executive Committee has reluctantly taken the decision to approve, on an exceptional basis, the two requests referred to it," the statement added.

"UEFA will actively contribute to the ongoing work led by FIFA to ensure that future rules uphold the integrity of domestic competitions and the close bond between clubs, their supporters and local communities.

"In parallel, all UEFA national associations confirmed their commitment to engage with UEFA before submitting any future requests. In doing so, they voiced their collective determination to safeguard the wider interests of European football."

Rabiot opposed to abroad Serie A fixture

Rabiot, for one, is certainly not a fan of the idea.

“I was surprised when I learned that AC Milan and I will be playing a Serie A match against Como… in Australia! It’s completely crazy,” The Frenchman told Le Figaro.

“These are financial agreements to give visibility to the league, things that are beyond us. There’s a lot of talk about schedules and player health, but this all seems truly absurd. It’s crazy to travel so many miles for a match between two Italian teams in Australia. We have to adapt, as always.”

The World Cup winner joined Milan from Marseille in the summer.

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