The upcoming Serie A match between AC Milan and Como, set to take place in Perth, Australia on February 8, is confirmed to proceed with Asian referees, as announced by Serie A president Ezio Maria Simoncelli.
Initially, the match faced uncertainty due to conditions imposed by the Asian Football Confederation, which included the stipulation of foreign referees instead of Italian officials.
“The match will indeed occur in Perth on February 8 as planned,” Simoncelli stated to Mediaset, just ahead of the Italian Supercup semifinal between AC Milan and Napoli in Riyad.
“I had a productive meeting with [FIFA president Gianni] Infantino in Doha yesterday,” he continued.
“We did have some concerns regarding certain conditions set by the AFC, particularly regarding the officiating. They insisted on the use of foreign referees, whereas we have strong confidence in our Italian referees. We were not inclined to follow this AFC request initially.
“However, after discussions with [chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee] Pierluigi Collina, he provided us with extensive assurances regarding the caliber of Asian referees and mentioned he has high-level referees in mind for the match, which has eased our concerns.
“This requirement was the most challenging for us to accept, but we are willing to agree to it. We will finalize the other organizational details in the upcoming days.
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