FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Italian Super Cup - Semi Final - Inter Milan v Atalanta - Al Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 2, 2025 New Serie A president Ezio Simonelli before the match REUTERS/Jennifer Lorenzini/File Photo
Dec 18 (Reuters) - The proposed Serie A match between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia, in February will go ahead as planned, Serie A President Ezio Simonelli told Mediaset on Thursday.
Italian mediareported last week that the match was unlikely to take place after Serie A raised concerns over unacceptable conditions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation, with Simonelli then telling it was still a work in progress.
However, Simonelli has now said the issues have been resolved, particularly regarding the appointment of the match referees, following discussions with former top Italian referee and Chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee Pierluigi Collina.
"We had a series of doubts over some of the conditions that had been set, which we considered impractical, for example being asked to use Asian Federation referees, as we have great faith in our Italian referees," Simonelli told Mediaset.
"Collina reassured us on the quality of the Asian referees, and highlighted a couple of officials who could be assigned the game. That was the most difficult thing to accept, the biggest obstacle, but we have overcome that thanks to the reassurances of Collina," Simonelli added.
The Italian FA approved Serie A's request to move the Milan-Como fixture on February 8 due to San Siro's unavailability as it hosts the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
UEFA reluctantly cleared the Serie A match in October in a decision that also covered LaLiga's plan to stage a league game between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami this month, which was later cancelled following strong domestic opposition.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken Ferris)
