Van Basten strongly against Milan-Como Australia game: “What kind of comedy is this?”

Marco van Basten has become the latest to criticise the decision for AC Milan’s game against Como to be played in Australia.

It first emerged a few weeks ago that Milan were thinking about playing a league match overseas in what would be the first relocation of its kind. The reason is that San Siro is being used for the Winter Olympics, and therefore cannot be used by the two clubs for a period.

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A war of words has since broken out in the media, with Adrien Rabiot having criticised the decision, which drew a strong response from the CEO of Serie A. It is likely to remain divisive, even if UEFA – after giving the green light – said that it would not set any kind of precedent.

Van Basten spoke about the decision in an interview with Mediaset and he also brought up the point of sporting integrity, with his words relayed below by Calciomercato.com.

“You have a league that’s played in Spain or Italy and suddenly you find yourself playing it on the other side of the world. The advantage of playing at home is completely different. It’s crazy for the fans too,” he said.

“What kind of comedy is this? I really don’t understand it, it seems crazy to me. It’s a lack of gratitude towards the fans and the country. And it’s also a failure of the season, which is distorted. Why does one team play away and another not? It’s not fair, it’s a distortion of the competition and should be banned.”