Fan groups across Europe urge UEFA and FIFA to block plans for Barcelona and Milan games abroad

Soccer fans from more than 400 club supporter groups in Europe urged FIFA and UEFA yesterday to block requests from the Spanish and Italian leagues to play games abroad.

The Spanish football federation has approved plans for Barcelona to play Villarreal in Miami in December, and Serie A wants AC Milan to host Como in February in Perth, Australia.

Ahead of UEFA’s executive committee meeting next week in Albania, its officially recognized fan liaison group Football Supporters Europe aimed to show the scale of opposition to “out-of-territory” games — including from a fan group at Villarreal.

“We call on UEFA, FIFA, and all national associations to stand firm, play their role as regulators of the game,” the FSE group said Wednesday, with support from fan groups in 25 countries, “and ensure that football remains rooted in our communities, where it belongs.”

“Clubs are neither entertainment companies nor traveling circuses. They exist for the benefit of their communities and provide a sense of belonging, where fans have been attending home games for generations,” FSE said.

Critics of the plans, including the European Commission’s top sports official in Brussels, Glenn Micallef, say the sporting integrity of leagues also would be unbalanced and damaged.

Allowing the Barcelona or AC Milan games to move would “instantly open a Pandora’s box with unpredictable and irreversible consequences,” the fan groups warned.

Fresh proposals to move domestic leagues abroad were inevitable once FIFA withdrew from a court case last year in New York brought by promotions agency Relevent.

Relevent was co-founded by Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, whose Hard Rock Stadium is set to stage the Villarreal-Barcelona game which the clubs hope will help build their fan bases and brands globally.

Barcelona has been struggling financially for several years and Miami also is where its iconic former star Lionel Messi currently plays, for Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.

Relevent also is now one of UEFA’s most significant commercial partners, sealing a deal this year to sell broadcast and sponsor rights for six years of the Champions League and other European club competitions starting in 2027.

UEFA’s ruling committee meets Sept. 11 in Tirana, chaired by its president Aleksander Ceferin. He suggested last week UEFA must talk with FIFA and currently has limited legal power to stop overseas games if the national federations involved agree to them. MDT/AP