Serie A Cancels AC Milan vs Como Match in Australia

AC Milan canceled the match against Como in Australia (Instagram/@acmilan).

JAKARTA - The plan to hold a Serie A match between AC Milan and Como in Australia has been canceled.

Serie A and local organizers issued a joint statement on Monday, December 22, 2025, local time, stating that the match was canceled.

Serie A president Ezio Simonelli said the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had recently issued "further and unacceptable requests for improvements" that made it impossible to hold the match.

AC Milan are looking for an alternative location to host matches as their San Siro stadium is not available due to the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

It will be the first home game of any of Europe's top five leagues played outside the continent.

AC Milan and Como are less than an hour away. The second meeting between the two teams was originally scheduled for February 8, 2026. Until now, there have been no signs of being moved.

Earlier last week, Serie A President Ezio Maria Simonelli said that the AC Milan vs Como duel would still take place in Perth, Australia, with Asian referees as the main referees.

Simoncelli admitted that the match was in doubt because of the conditions set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which included the use of foreign referees and not Italian referees.

"Milan vs Como will be played in Perth on February 8 (2026) according to schedule. Yesterday I met with (FIFA President Gianni) Infantino in Doha and I had a friendly meeting."

"We have some doubts about certain conditions that have been set by the AFC, which we consider impractical, especially regarding the referee."

"They have decided to use foreign referees and we have great confidence in Italian referees. We feel no need to comply with, say, this AFC request."

"I spoke personally with (FIFA refereeing committee head Pierluigi) Collina and he gave me broad assurances about the quality of Asian referees."

"He already has one or several referees with a very high level who can lead the match. That has convinced us."

"This condition, which is the most difficult to accept, we will accept. We will complete the rest in the coming days regarding the organization of the match," Simoncelli told Mediaset last week.

Serie A actually got approval from both clubs, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), UEFA, FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the Australian Football Federation for the match to be played in Australia. However, it has now been canceled.

Apart from that, in addition to Serie A, LaLiga also wants to hold a league match between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami in December 2025, but canceled it due to the reaction in Spain to the decision to hold league matches abroad.