USMNT's Christian Pulisic calls 'harsh' potential AC Milan-Como game in Australia 'a strange one'

AUSTIN, Texas – U.S. men's national team player Christian Pulisic called a proposed Serie A match between AC Milan and Como in Perth, Australia "harsh" for the players, becoming the latest soccer figure to express his reluctance to a growing trend of holding league fixtures in international cities.

UEFA "reluctantly" approved Serie A's application to host the Milan-Como game in the western Australian city on Monday, and did the same for LaLiga's plans to stage Villarreal-Barcelona at Miami Gardens' Hard Rock Stadium. The matches still await FIFA's approval but that is expected to be a formality at this point, with LaLiga officially announcing their South Florida game on Wednesday. Serie A plans to stage the Milan-Como match in February, not changing the regularly scheduled date but rather the venue since Milan's San Siro will be hosting the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

The Villarreal-Barcelona game will be the first league game to be staged outside of its domestic territory, a move that leagues like La Liga and Serie A have described as a chance to grow the sport and their product internationally. The move has many detractors, though, who feel the uprooting of domestic games alters the integrity of the competition.

"Am I super thrilled that we have to go to Australia to play one game?" Pulisic said on Thursday ahead of the USMNT's match against Ecuador. "It's a little bit harsh because I heard about that as well, but as far as for the fan experience to grow the game worldwide, I get it, I guess, but as far as tradition, I can also understand why there would be a little bit of pushback, I guess, but for me, it's a strange one."

Though Pulisic noted the similarities between Serie A and La Liga's plans and the NFL and the NBA, who have staged international matches for several years now, he highlighted the unique challenges facing soccer players.

"I guess it's not that different," Pulisic added. "I don't know – besides that, we have a lot more games. The travel's definitely tougher."

Pulisic's national team colleague Chris Richards had a similar viewpoint.

"I think Miami has kind of a deep Latin influence and so I think for that reason, I understand," Richards said while reflecting on the Villarreal-Barcelona game. "I think it could be a good idea but also it's a lot of travel for one game and it's also in the middle of the season. They're making soccer kind of a lot tougher than it should be with all the traveling and things like that, but regardless, it's really good for the sport here in the States but as somebody who's playing in Europe right now, I think it's tough to travel nine hours for a game and then come back."

While Villarreal and Barcelona have a transatlantic trip ahead of them, Milan and Como face a 20-hour journey to Perth for the Feb. 8 fixture. They are currently scheduled to face Pisa a week later, who will have the benefit of taking part in a much shorter away trip to Hellas Verona while Milan are in Australia.

Pulici's Milan teammate Adrien Rabiot was more cutting in his criticism of the fixture in Perth, which he said was "completely crazy."

"It's all about financial deals and providing visibility for the league, which are placed ahead of us [the players]," Rabiot said, per the Associated Press. "There's all this talk about schedules and players' well-being but this all seems really absurd. It's crazy to travel so far for a game between two Italian squads in Australia. We'll have to adapt, like always."