Uefa gives ‘reluctant’ approval for domestic games to be played abroad this season

Sports
  • Governing body says go-ahead shouldn’t set precedent

  • Barcelona poised to play in US, and Milan in Australia

Uefa has granted permission for La Liga and Serie A to stage a game each abroad this winter, meaning European league games will be played on different continents for the first time, in a potentially incendiary move.

The governing body’s go-ahead means that, pending the formality of Fifa approval, Barcelona will face Villarreal in Miami this December in a move that breaks with decades of tradition across the continent. Milan have also been permitted to play Como in Perth, Australia, in February. Uefa, though, claims its go-ahead will not herald a torrent of similar relocations, saying its hands have been tied by gaps in football’s regulations.

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