Footballers must respect the money they earn and their employers, Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo said on Wednesday in response to AC Milan midfielder Adrien Rabiot’s concerns about his club’s planned league match in Australia.
Italian Serie A has turned the unavailability of the San Siro in February due to the Winter Olympics into an opportunity for Italian football to increase international visibility, and Milan’s match with Como will be played in Perth.
Rabiot, currently on international duty with France, called the decision crazy on Tuesday when he spoke to French newspaper Le Figaro.
«I was surprised when I heard that AC Milan will play a Serie A match against Como… in Australia,» Rabiot said.
«It’s completely insane. But these are financial agreements to give visibility to the competition, things that are beyond us.»
«There’s a lot of talk about fixtures and player health, but this all seems really absurd. It’s crazy to travel so many kilometers for a match between two Italian teams in Australia. We have to adapt, as always.»
De Siervo, who attended a Serie A meeting in Rome, was asked about Rabiot’s comments that these decisions are made without input from players.
«He is right, but Rabiot, like all footballers who earn millions of euros, forgets that they are paid to perform an activity, to play football,» De Siervo told reporters.
“He must respect the money he earns and comply with the wishes of his employer, Milan, who accepted and insisted on playing this match abroad.”
While UEFA is against domestic league matches being played abroad, it reluctantly approved the match on Monday (along with a La Liga match in Miami), saying FIFA’s regulatory framework, which is still under review, lacks sufficient clarity and detail.
However, De Siervo believes that football must follow the example of other sports if the game is to continue to grow.
«Last year’s Tour de France started from Florence; the Giro d’Italia often starts abroad. This is done to strengthen the product, not weaken it,» he said of the cycling events.
“The NFL and NBA have been playing outside the US for years, with the concept of being a global product.
«UEFA said it was against it, but accepted the exceptional nature of this event. However, we believe this could be a model that the football world must follow, with precise rules, if it does not want to lose to other sports.»
Published on October 8, 2025
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