UEFA reluctantly clears Milan and Barcelona to play domestic league matches abroad

VIDEO SHOWS: FC BARCELONA TEAM TRAINING SESSION / AC MILAN TEAM TRAINING SESSION / SCREENGRABS FROM UEFA’S WEBPAGE ANNOUNCING BARCELONA AND AC MILAN REQUESTS GRANTED ON ‘EXCEPTIONAL BASIS’ / UEFA PRESIDENT ALEKSANDER CEFERIN / UEFA HEADQUARTERS / DRONE FOOTAGE OF HARD ROCK STADIUM RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: BARCELONA, SPAIN (OCTOBER 4, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. FC BARCELONA COACH, HANSI FLICK, WALKING OUT FOR BARCELONA TRAINING SESSION 2. FORWARD, ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI, WALKING OUT 3. GOALKEEPERS TRAINING 4. PLAYERS WALKING OUT 5. FLICK TALKING WITH ASSISTANTS 6. PLAYERS IN A GROUP 7. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS WITH SPRINKLERS 8. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS TRAINING 9. FLICK WITH ASSISTANTS 10. PLAYERS TRAINING 11. VARIOUS OF PLAYERS IN A HUDDLE 12. MIDFIELDER FRENKIE DE JONG PUTTING ON BIB 13. PRACTICE SESSION HONG KONG, CHINA (FILE – JULY 25, 2025) (REUTERS – No more than 90 seconds of training can be used.) 14. AC MILAN TRAINING SESSION IN DOWNPOUR INCLUDING CHRISTIAN PULISIC, SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE & NEW SIGNING FROM BRIGHTON PERVIS ESTUPINAN, WARMING UP 15. PLAYERS WARMING UP, INCLUDING RAFAEL LEAO, PULISIC, CHUKWUEZE & ESTUPINAN WARMING UP 16. TRAINING GAME UNDERWAY 17. TRAINING GAME WITH BALL EVENTUALLY GOING TO MATTEO GABBIA WHO PASSES IT 18. TRAINING GAME WITH SAMUELE RICCI EVENTUALLY PASSING INSIDE BEFORE SHOT IS BLOCKED 19. TRAINING GAME WITH NOAH OKAFOR (WEARING BIB) ON THE BALL BUT BEING PLAYED AWAY FROM GOAL 20. TRAINING GAME WITH ALEXIS SAELEMAEKERS MOSTLY ON THE BALL BEFORE BEING DISPOSED 21. TRAINING GAME WITH LEAO SCORING A GOAL 22. TRAINING GAME WITH ESTUPINAN FOULING TEAMMATE 23. OKAFOR PASSING TO GABBIA, WHO PASSES IT WIDE WITH BALL EVENTUALLY MAKING ITS WAY TO YUNUS MUSAH 24. AC MILAN COACH MASSIMILIANO ALLEGRI AMONGST PLAYERS & MEMBERS OF COACHING TEAM 25. TRAINING UNDERWAY 26. OKAFOR AMONGST TEAMMATES 27. PLAYERS WARMING UP WITH THUNDER HEARD IN BACKGROUND 28. LEGS / PULISIC, CHUKWUEZE & ESTUPINAN WARMING UP 29. PLAYERS WARMING UP 30. AC MILAN FANS 31. TRAINING UNDERWAY INTERNET (OCTOBER 6, 2025) (UEFA.COM – Access all) 32. VARIOUS SCREENGRABS FROM UEFA’S WEBPAGE ANNOUNCING BARCELONA AND AC MILAN REQUESTS GRANTED ON ‘EXCEPTIONAL BASIS’ (THREE SCREENGRABS) BELGRADE, SERBIA (FILE – APRIL 3, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 33. VARIOUS OF UEFA PRESIDENT ALEKSANDER CEFERIN AT PRESS CONFERENCE (NOT A SOUNDBITE) NYON, SWITZERLAND (FILE – JUNE 27, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 34. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THE UEFA HEADQUARTERS / LARGE BALL IN HEADQUARTER GROUNDS MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FILE – NOVEMBER 15, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 35. VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE OF HARD ROCK STADIUM – HOME OF THE NFL’S MIAMI DOLPHINS AND SITE WHERE BARCELONA’S LALIGA MATCH AGAINST VILLARREAL IS SLATED TO BE PLAYED STORY: UEFA have reluctantly approved a Serie A and a LaLiga match to be played abroad, the European governing body confirmed on Monday (October 6).      The LaLiga fixture between Barcelona and Villarreal will be staged in Miami in late December, while AC Milan’s Serie A encounter with Como will be held in Perth, Australia, in early February.     Milan opted for a foreign location as their San Siro stadium will be unavailable as both the city and the stadium prepare to host the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 6.     Spain's LaLiga has been pursuing their transatlantic vision for almost a decade, emulating the strategy employed by the NFL and NBA to establish themselves in other markets.     UEFA said its Executive Committee had reluctantly approved the move as an exception, stressing that FIFA’s regulatory framework, still under review, lacks sufficient clarity and detail, and reiterating that it remains opposed in principle to such matches.     "League matches should be played on home soil; anything else would disenfranchise loyal match-going fans and potentially introduce distortive elements in competitions," UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement.     "While it is regrettable to have to let these two games go ahead, this decision is exceptional and shall not be seen as setting a precedent.     "Our commitment is clear: to protect the integrity of national leagues and ensure that football remains anchored in its home environment."   (Production: Joyce Zhou, Stefan Haskins, Andy Ragg, Kurt Michael Hall)

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